A Tibetan activist with Taiwanese nationality was arrested in Japan yesterday after attempting to disrupt the Nagano leg of the Olympic torch relay.
The vice president of the Tibetan Youth Congress’ Taiwan chapter, Tashi Tsering (扎西慈仁), was arrested after he attempted to grab the Olympic torch from Japanese table tennis player Ai Fukuhara, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) told the Taipei Times.
Tashi is from a Tibetan family that took refuge in India after China took control of Tibet in the 1950s. Many of his relatives who remained in Tibet were killed by Chinese authorities, Tashi told the Taipei Times prior to his departure for Japan.
Although local police dispatched over 3,000 officers to safeguard the torch relay, minor clashes broke out several times between Tibetan activists and around 5,000 Chinese supporters after the torch relay started yesterday morning, Yeh said.
Along with Tashi, four other Japanese activists were also arrested, she said.
“Right now, he’s in custody at Nagano’s central police station,” Yeh said. “He will be detained there for a 48-hour interrogation period during which he will not be allowed any visitors.”
Taiwan’s representative office in Japan has already been notified of the incident.
“The representative office will keep a close eye on the situation and someone will go to see Tashi as soon as he is allowed to receive visitors,” she said, adding that the diplomatic mission will try to assist Tashi in whatever way it can.
Meanwhile, a source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Tashi would likely be transferred to a prosecutors’ office after the 48-hour custody period, and would probably be released tomorrow.
Some Tibet-support groups in Taiwan are also seeking to provide legal assistance to Tashi, the source said.
Tashi was still unavailable for interview as of press time.
Meanwhile, leaders of 21 Taiwanese American groups have urged US President George W. Bush to boycott the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in August, over China’s violent crackdown on Tibetan protesters and its military intimidation of Taiwan.
In a letter dated April 24, the leaders told Bush that if he were to attend the event, he “would be viewed as endorsing China’s appalling policies toward Tibet and Taiwan.”
“In the words of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, China is carrying out ‘cultural genocide’ in Tibet. The United States must not be seen as colluding in committing this crime,” the letter said.
Noting that Bush’s repeated calls for China to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama “have all but fallen on deaf ears,” the statement said China’s brutal suppression of protesters in Tibet should not be tolerated as “business as usual.”
The statement dismissed a demand made by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) that the Dalai Lama accept Tibet and Taiwan as “inalienable parts of China” as a precondition for dialogue as “arrogant” and “imperialistic.”
“Hu is a dictator to be shunned, rather than an enlightened leader with whom you should share the stage in celebrating the Olympics,” the statement said.
Also See: Five arrested over Japanese torch run
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