Tibetan exiles in Nepal clashed with local police when the police tried to take down a picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as well as a banner accusing China of violating their rights in Tibet, a Taiwanese witness said.
The clash happened during a memorial service at a Tibetan settlement in Nepal for Tibetans who have immolated themselves.
“At around 10am today [Tuesday], Tibetan exiles held a memorial service at Jawalakhel Settlement on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
“As they were hanging up a giant picture of the Dalai Lama and a banner accusing China, a large number of police officers rushed towards them and took the picture and banner away,” a Taiwanese academic currently in Nepal — who wished to remain anonymous — told the Taipei Times via e-mail.
“Police officers actually surrounded the venue for the religious service and blocked the entrance before the service started, but only acted after seeing the picture and the banner,” the academic said.
The academic added that police officers apparently stepped on the picture of the Tibetan spiritual leader and thus angered the Tibetans on the scene.
“The angry Tibetans then rushed into the streets to protest, whereupon the police immediately began to arrest the protesters,” the academic said.
“Many of the protestors were beaten by the police — some were hit with rifle butts — and many people were injured as they were arrested,” the academic added.
Some elderly Tibetans and women decided to stage a sit-in at a nearby park, but they were also arrested, the academic said.
The police threatened to confiscate the video camera that the scholar had in hand as the academic tried to record the scene.
“A young Italian tourist staying in the same building came out and tried to take pictures, but was told to stop and chased down the street by police,” the academic said.
“The Italian tourist told me that he never thought the situation was so bad for Tibetan exiles in Nepal and that he also was frightened by the police brutality even though he was just a tourist,” the academic added.
Local Tibetans told the academic that about 60 people were arrested and that they started a hunger strike while in detention before being released later on Tuesday night.
Tibetans yesterday delivered petition letters to the embassies of G20 countries in Kathmandu.
However, Nepalese police broke into the houses of Tibetan exiles and arrested about 20 young Tibetans, the academic said, adding that it was not clear whether the arrests had anything to do with the protest on Tuesday or the delivery of the petition letters.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party