The de facto representative of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Taiwan yesterday took exception to claims made by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) that Tibet had signed its 17-point peace agreement with China as a local government in 1951.
Ma made the comments yesterday when responding to Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) remarks on Wednesday comparing the cross-strait peace agreement that Ma has proposed signing to the agreement signed between China and Tibet.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Tsai said a peace agreement with China would not necessarily guarantee cross-strait peace and security. Using the 17-point peace agreement Tibet signed as an example, Tsai said that despite promises to ensure genuine autonomy, freedom of religion and Tibetan culture, the Chinese occupation of Tibet only brought repression on the Tibetans, their religion and culture, forcing the Dalai Lama into exile in 1959.
Responding to Tsai, Ma said her remarks were “downgrading” Taiwan’s status as a sovereign country, as the title of the Sino-Tibetan agreement shows that the agreement was signed between the “central government” and the “Tibetan local government.”
However, Dawa Tsering, chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, disagreed with Ma.
“Tibet was forced to sign the peace treaty with China because the Tibetan army was defeated and Chinese troops were right outside the city of Lhasa at the time,” Dawa told the Taipei Times by telephone. “A delegation was sent to Beijing to hold talks with the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] regime and the delegation was forced into signing the agreement without receiving prior authorization from the government in Lhasa.”
The delegation had to make a new seal in Beijing to stamp on the agreement as they were not able to get authorization and the official seal from Lhasa, he said.
Aside from the title and how the Sino-Tibetan agreement was signed, Dawa said that what happened to Tibet afterwards, despite the “beautiful promises” by China, “should teach anyone or any country in the world that tries to make a deal with China a lesson.”
“The Chinese government is insincere, dishonest and it upholds no moral values,” he said.
A Tibetan living in Taiwan, Tashi Tsering, who is a member of the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association, shared Dawa’s views.
“We Tibetans don’t trust the CCP regime at all, no one should trust them,” he said. “I actually agree with what Tsai said.”
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of