A march was held in Taipei yesterday commemorating the 1959 Tibetan uprising against China, showing solidarity with Tibetans and others who protest Chinese oppression.
The rally, held annually in Taipei every March since 2004, was originally intended to commemorate those who died during the Tibetan uprising against Chinese communist rule on March 10, 1959.
The event has grown in size and scope to also support the people of Xinjiang and Hong Kong, organizers said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa, a representative to Taiwan of the Tibetan government in exile, said before the march that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1950 and forced Tibetans to agree the following year to what was called the Seventeen-Point Agreement.
However, Beijing soon breached clauses in the agreement that said religion and customs should be respected, and introduced policies aimed at fundamentally changing Tibet’s culture and governance, Kelsang Gyaltsen said.
These changes led to the uprising of Tibetans against the Chinese government in March 1959, he said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
The protesters were violently suppressed by the Chinese government, and the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was forced to flee to India, where he later formed a Tibetan government in exile.
Over the past seven decades, about 200,000 Tibetans have been killed, with tens of thousands forced to leave their homes into exile, Kelsang Gyaltsen said.
Since 2009, a total of 159 Tibetans have self-immolated to protest China’s takeover of their homeland, yet Beijing continues to oppress Tibetans, he added.
He called on Tibetans, Taiwanese and Chinese who face oppression from Beijing to unite to be heard so that one day they can witness true democracy and freedom in China, allowing Tibetans in exile to return home.
Rally participants included Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-che (李明哲), who returned from China to Taiwan last year after serving a five-year sentence for “subverting state power.”
Lee was arrested in 2017 during a visit to Guangdong Province, where he was accused of using online discussion groups to disseminate information and articles attacking the Chinese government.
Lee said that during his incarceration from 2017 to last year, many exiled Tibetans offered support and called on Beijing for his release.
“They [Tibetans] are also suffering, yet they still did not forget to stand in solidarity with me,” Lee said.
The decision to take part in the march to support Tibetans “was only natural,” he added.
Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to a democracy has been supported by many foreign nationals and countries, Lee said.
Taiwanese should join Tibetans in exile “to let them know that they are not alone in chasing their dream to return home safely,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS