China said yesterday that two Tibetans had been executed for their role in deadly ethnic unrest that rocked the Himalayan region last year, the first known use of capital punishment over the violence.
The confirmation by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu (馬朝旭) came after several international activist groups had reported that up to four Tibetans were shot dead by Chinese firing squads over the violence that erupted in March last year.
“The two criminals who were executed were found guilty in accordance with the law in both a first trial and an appeals trial,” Ma told reporters.
“China’s judiciary handled the cases in strict accordance with the law,” he said, noting that the verdicts had been reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Ma said he was unaware of the executions of two other Tibetans reported by the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy.
Fierce protests erupted in Lhasa and spread across Tibet and adjacent areas in March last year, embarrassing the government in Beijing as it prepared to host the Summer Olympics.
Beijing blamed the Dalai Lama for inciting the unrest, but the Buddhist monk says he only seeks greater regional autonomy.
China has said “rioters” were responsible for 21 deaths, while its security forces killed only one “insurgent.” But the exiled Tibetan government has said more than 200 Tibetans were killed in the subsequent crackdown.
State media said in April that two people had been sentenced to death over the violence, the first such penalties reported.
The top Communist Party leader in Tibet, Zhang Qingli (張慶黎), has said the fight against separatism in the region remained “very serious” more than a year after the unrest, state media reported yesterday.
In a speech in Lhasa this week, Zhang urged all levels of government, as well as the military, to step up efforts to ensure public order, the Tibet Daily reported.
“Since 2005, we have made important contributions to safeguard overall social stability ... by hitting hard and preventing [separatism] and by building a solid line of defence to strike at hostile people,” Zhang said.
China has ruled Tibet since 1951 after “liberating” the region the previous year.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from
RSS