By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, March 7: Groups expressing their solidarity to Tibet held a rally yesterday to commemorate the 64th anniversary of Tibetan Uprising Day in Taipei with slogans calling for a free Tibet, Hong Kong, East Turkestan and to keep Taiwan free. Taiwanese civil society groups, such as the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, Economic Democracy Union, Covenants Watch and Taiwan Association for Human rights, as well as groups from Hong Kong and Uyghurs, such as Hong Kong Outlanders and East Turkestan Association took part in the rally.
The rally on Sunday began at 1:30 PM local time by singing the Tibetan national anthem, followed by a series of talks from politicians supporting the Tibet cause which included legislators Freddy Lim, Hung Sun-had and Taipei city councillors Sabrina Lim and Miao Poya. The rally then moved to the Bank of China in Xinyi, a site often used by the demonstrators to condemn China regarding Hong Kong as well as Tibet issues. A skit was also performed in front of the building with participants wearing masks of Tibetan political prisoners, including the revered religious leader Panchen Lama.
Officials representatives were absent, the organisers said. However, many politicians highlighted the common cause of Taiwan and Tibet at the event, including Taiwanese human rights advocate Lee Ming-che, who was detained for five years by China.
Tashi Tsering, the chair of the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan spoke about his experience of being brought up in the Tibetan exile community and about the totalitarian government of China’s oppression of Tibetans. The Chair also highlighted the continuous deaths inside Tibet due to self-immolations, which are yet to be properly acknowledged by the international community. He also condemned the China’s forced collection of DNA samples throughout the TAR and said it is subjecting Tibetans to pervasive repression.
The anniversary of the 64th Tibetan Uprising day will further be commemorated on March 10th with a vigil, the organisers said.
