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Tibet activists ask
public to march
By Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporter
Worried about the indifference of Taiwanese toward the ongoing repression of
Tibetans by the Chinese government and self-immolations by Tibetans, Tibet
activists yesterday called on the public to join a march to commemorate the 54th
anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising in Taipei on Sunday.
¡§If a group of people stand idly by and watch while another group of people are
being beaten on the street, then I would call that society cold-blooded and
fallen,¡¨ former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (¸µâÄõ), a lifelong volunteer at the Deng
Liberty Foundation, said at a press conference in Taipei. ¡§Sadly, this is what I
am seeing in Taiwan ¡X the majority of the people in Taiwan are indifferent,
while Tibetans use their own bodies to protest against the Chinese occupation of
Tibet.¡¨
¡§We should stand with Tibetans, because the goals that the they are trying to
achieve ¡X freedom of expression, freedom of religion, preservation of their own
culture and living with dignity on their own land ¡X are also our values,¡¨ Yeh
said.
As the widow of the late democracy activist Deng Nan-jung (¾G«nº_), who
self-immolated in 1989 to protest a lack of freedom of speech in Taiwan, Yeh
said that she could feel the pain of the families of self-immolated Tibetans.
¡§Therefore, I think I should stand up to give them my support,¡¨ Yeh said.
Meanwhile, the rapper DogG (¤j¤ä) said he felt ashamed about the indifference
showed by mainstream Taiwanese society toward the sufferings of Tibetans and the
government¡¦s refusal to issue a visa to the Dalai Lama.
¡§The rally on March 10 is a good opportunity for us to raise public awareness
about the issue and to tell the government that we Taiwanese will always stand
with Tibetans in their struggle,¡¨ he said.
Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan chairman Tenzin Chompel said that through
actions worldwide, Tibetans want to tell China and the world that they will not
give up on independence for Tibet.
¡§With more than 6 million Tibetans under Chinese repression and with 150,000
living in exile as refugees, we will not give up our Buddhist culture and we
will not forget that we are Tibetan, not Chinese. We insist that only when we
regain independence can our freedom be guaranteed,¡¨ he said.
¡§I also want to say that it¡¦s no use compromising with China, because treaties
and negotiations with China are just lies ¡X we hope that Taiwan will not fall
like a next Tibet,¡¨ he added.
Marchers are scheduled to assemble at 1pm at Exit 2 of Zhong-xiao Fuxing MRT
station on Sunday, while the march is to start at 2pm.
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