Shouting matches and minor clashes erupted at the National Palace Museum yesterday after officials turned down a request by Tibetans and activists to present a photo of the Dalai Lama to “fill the missing part” of an exhibition on Tibetan Buddhist art.
“The Dalai Lama is the highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism. How could a portrait of the Dalai Lama be missing at an exhibition about Tibetan Buddhism?” asked Regional Tibetan Youth Congress-Taiwan (RTYC-Taiwan) chairman Tashi Tsering, wearing a traditional Tibetan outfit and holding up a large portrait of the Dalai Lama.
Several police officers stood in front of Tashi and other activists, blocking their attempt to enter the exhibition with the picture, asking them to leave immediately.
PHOTO: CHEN YI-CHUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
“If you accept the portrait, we will leave right away,” Tashi said.
Police refused the request, with one officer saying they would not allow anyone to take “that thing” — referring to the Dalai Lama’s portrait — into the venue.
The remarks were not well received by the Tibetans.
“It’s not ‘a thing,’ it’s a portrait of the Dalai Lama, the highest figure in our religion,” they said.
The standoff lasted about 20 minutes.
Police said the activists were in violation of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) because they had not applied to hold a political rally. The Tibetans countered that their action was religious as they were there to defend their religion, adding that by law, an assembly and parade permit is not required for religious activities.
“We’re all about religion, it’s the Chinese government that’s trying to politicize everything,” RTYC-Taiwan vice-chairman Tenzin Chunpel said. “They are trying to reinforce the impression that Tibet has always been part of China through this exhibition, that’s why they’re purposely avoiding talking about the Dalai Lama in the exhibition.”
“If we have to apply to deliver a portrait of the Dalai Lama, who applied to the Tibetans to take these pieces of art — which belong to all Tibetans — to an exhibition outside of Tibet?” Chunpel said.
Students for a Free Tibet-Taiwan spokeswoman Jade Kuo (郭聖潔) said items in the exhibition “were stolen by the Chinese government from the Tibetans when they invaded Tibet in the 1950s.”
Although police said the activists should have applied for a permit before the demonstration, an officer told the Taipei Times it would not have been approved even if they had applied.
“We could not possibly have approved the application because it involved politics,” the officer said.
The officer could not explain why, if the application for the rally had been political in nature, it would have been turned down.
“You ask me based on which law?” he said. “Well, maybe I should not answer this question.”
Museum Southern Branch deputy director Lin Chen-feng (林振豐), who is in charge of the exhibition venue, said the museum would only deal with purely cultural and artistic issues.
“[The activists’] demands are political. That’s not something I can respond to,” he said.
Asked why a portrait of the Dalai Lama could not be considered a piece of art, Lin said he did not consider a person’s portrait art.
Failing to receive a positive response from the museum, the Tibetans and their supporters sat down to recite Buddhist chants and sing the Tibetan national anthem before leaving.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS