Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) and other lawmakers yesterday inaugurated the Taiwan Parliament Group for Uyghur.
“Our initiative is to show solidarity and support for Uighurs, as well as to network with legislators of other nations,” Lim said.
It is also to defend democracy and human rights as universal values,” he added.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
China has stepped up its oppression against Hong Kongers, Tibetans and Uighurs, he said, adding that “Taiwan cannot ignore these developments, because we are at the frontline of the Indo-Pacific region.”
World Uyghur Congress chairman Dolku Isa attended the inauguration event at the legislature in Taipei through videoconferencing.
“The Chinese Communist Party conducts severe crackdowns and brutal torture against Uighurs. We must draw attention to it for the international community to take action against these horrible crimes,” he said.
“We must also stand together in solidarity to fight against China’s human rights abuse and atrocities against Tibetans, Southern Mongolians, and the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan,” he said.
Dolku Isa said that during his trip to Taiwan in 2006, then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said that he would promote ties between Taiwan and Uighurs.
However, China in 2009 began to put pressure on him, and he has since been unable to visit Taiwan, he said, expressing the hope to do so in the near future.
Uighurs face genocide, he said, adding that “people must not keep silent on this anymore.”
Dolku Isa said he appreciates the lawmakers’ effort at this important point in time.
The event was also attended by Taiwan East Turkestan Association director Ho Chao-tung (何朝棟) and democracy advocate Wuer Kaixi, an exiled Uighur.
So far, 30 lawmakers have joined the group. Lin is to head the group, and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) is to act as deputy head.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique