World Uyghur Congress (WUC) spokesman Dilshat Rexit yesterday protested National Security Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng’s (蔡得勝) remarks hinting that Uighur activists are terrorists, urging that Taiwan, as a sovereign country, should have its own national security policies, instead of following those of Beijing.
“I didn’t really expect that I would be allowed into Taiwan, so before I departed, I contacted some human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and asked them to help once I was denied entry,” Dilshat, now a Swedish citizen, told a news conference held in Taipei after his arrival.
“Taiwan is a country on its own, you elect your own president, so I never understand why you always have to follow Beijing’s policies,” he said.
Dilshat was referring to a remark by Tsai during a legislative meeting that two terrorist suspects were denied entry in 2009 ahead of the World Games.
Although Tsai did not say who the two suspects were, one of the foreign nationals denied entry ahead of the games was WUC secretary-general Dulkun Isa.
“The accusation was baseless and politically motivated, because no other country in the world — except China — calls Uighurs terrorists,” Dilshat said. “The objectives of the Uighurs are very clear — politically, economically and culturally, we want to be on our own. Environmentally, we don’t want our homeland to be damaged.”
He said that China’s rule over Uighurs is effectively colonial rule and the struggle of the Uighurs is resistance against Chinese colonialism.
“Our struggle is not terrorism, not a single Uighur supports terrorism,” he said.
Yiong Cong-ziin (楊長鎮), one of the co-founders of Taiwan Friends of Uyghurs, agreed.
“Taiwan apparently does not have its own national security,” Yiong said. “As we can all see, [WUC President] Rebiya Kadeer and the Dalai Lama are welcome in most countries around the world, but President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] declined to allow them into Taiwan. In my opinion, Taiwan following China’s national security measures is the deepest security threat to this country.”
Dilshat called on the Taiwanese government to take action to support the democracy movement in China.
“China is causing threats to most of its neighbors, including Taiwan and Japan, and only when China becomes a democracy with rule of law can there be stability in the region and can Taiwan be secure,” he said.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS