Tibetan activists will hold a Free Tibet Concert next month to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising, saying they hope to show that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) stand on Tibetan issues is not representative of all Taiwanese.
Freddy Lim (林昶佐), lead vocalist of heavy metal band Chthonic, said yesterday: “We want to tell the world that we Taiwanese stand by the values of freedom and democracy and that whatever Ma says [about Tibet] doesn’t represent us all.”
Ma said earlier this year that he was in favor of autonomy for Tibet but not independence.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The July 11 concert, arranged by Guts United Taiwan and Taiwan Friends of Tibet, is the latest in a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising.
The failed uprising was followed by the Dalai Lama’s flight into exile.
Lim said he had invited the Dalai Lama to the concert when they met in Dharamsala, India, earlier this year.
“The Dalai Lama told me that he would love to come to Taiwan anytime if he could, but it depended on other factors, too, such as the Taiwanese government’s attitude,” Lim said.
Although it may not be possible for the Dalai Lama to attend the concert given that Ma said last year and earlier this year that the timing was “not appropriate” for a visit, the Dalai Lama gave his blessing to the concert, Lim said.
Lim and about a dozen other volunteers yesterday handed out flyers for the concert at Vieshow Cinema Square in Taipei.
On an overpass connecting two buildings in the square behind Lim hung a Tibetan flag and a large banner bearing the words “Free Tibet” in English and a picture of Lim and his wife, Chthonic band leader Doris Yeh (葉湘怡).
Yeh said they had planned to have a banner with “Free Tibet” printed big in Chinese, “but the owner of the building was afraid that it was too sensitive and the Taipei City Government could find excuses to not approve it or bully [the owner] because of the ad.”
The concert will feature 10 Taiwanese bands and artists including Chthonic, Fire Extinguisher, LTK Commune, Dog G, Panay, Chang Jui-chuan (張睿詮) and Enno Cheng (鄭宜農) as well as a wide variety of music from folk to rock and hip-hop, Lim said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS