Human rights groups yesterday protested outside the Russian representative office in Taipei, condemning what they said was the Moscow-sponsored violence in Syria, while urging the Russian government to suspend arms sales to the Syrian government.
Since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March last year, more than 14,000 people have reportedly been killed. Many were civilians who died from government artillery and tank shellings, or were shot at close range. Despite the escalation of violence, Moscow continues to sell weapons to its ally in Damascus.
Led by Amnesty International Taiwan, several human rights groups, including the Taiwan Labor Front, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, the Garden of Hope Foundation and the Awakening Foundation, gathered in front of the Aurora Building, where the Representative Office in Taipei for the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation — the de facto Russian embassy — is located, and called attention to the bloodshed in Syria.
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hua, Taipei Times
The activists focused on the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty, which is scheduled for next month in New York and expected to come up with an internationally agreed regulation on the global trade in conventional weapons.
According to Amnesty International Taiwan director Yang Tsung-Li (楊宗澧), it is estimated that one person dies from armed violence every minute and that about 26 million people become refugees because of armed conflicts each year.
The world’s largest arms exporters include Russia, China, the US and the UK.
“Even though Taiwan is not a member state of United Nations, Taiwanese should not stay aloof from world affairs. These issues are crucial to us, especially considering the situation between Taiwan and China,” Yang said.
Yesterday was the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and Amnesty International offices worldwide have staged similar events to raise awareness of what has happened in Syria, Yang said.
In Taipei, the protesters shouted the slogans “Stop killing” and “Stop arms sales” in front of the Russian representative office. A dozen activists stayed after the protest and handed out copies of petitions that can be signed and mailed to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to passersby during lunchtime.
The rights groups originally attempted to submit a letter demanding an immediate suspension of arms transfers to Syria, but the Russian office refused to accept it.
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
RSS