A group of Tibetans in Taiwan launched a 49-hour hunger strike yesterday after a nearly two-week sit-in in front of the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall in protest at China's bloody crackdown in Tibet earlier this month.
China cracked down on a peaceful demonstration by Tibetans on March 10 to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
So far, the conflicts in Tibet and Tibetan communities across China have left more than 130 dead and more than 1,000 injured, Western media and the Tibetan government-in-exile reported.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
The Chinese government has said the death toll was only a little more than 20.
After closing down Lhasa for more than a week, Chinese authorities arranged a visit for foreign media to show that the situation had been brought under control in the city.
However, around 30 monks rushed out unexpectedly during the press conference in a monastery, saying the government was lying to the world and that everything they saw was arranged by the state.
"The surprise protest by Tibetan monks during a press conference arranged by Chinese authorities in Lhasa for foreign media showed that the repression is still ongoing, and that the Chinese government is trying to cover it up with lies," Chow Mei-li (周美里), president of Taiwan Friends of Tibet, told the crowd at the site of the hunger strike.
"Tibetans in Taiwan, as well as their Taiwanese supporters, will start a 49-hour hunger strike to remember those who sacrificed themselves for the freedom of Tibet over the past two weeks," she said.
The number 49 was chosen to symbolize the 49th anniversary of the 1959 uprising.
With banners listing their demands, the Tibetans have asked the Chinese government to immediately stop the crackdown. They have also asked the International Olympic Committee to halt its plan to pass the Olympic torch relay through Tibet, and they have asked the international community to intervene by sending in an independent team of investigators.
The hunger strike will continue until 4pm tomorrow.
In related news, President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the remarks while receiving Tsegyam Ngaba, the Chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Taipei, at the Presidential Office.
Chen shared Ngaba's view that the Tibet issue is not a problem between Han Chinese and Tibetans, but an issue of how to defend the universal value of human rights.
Chen condemned China for accusing the "Dalai clique" of masterminding the recent unrest in Tibet, saying that the slander was just "unacceptable for anyone."
Chen was scheduled to visit the site of the hunger strike last night to show his support.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to