Day: March 5, 2023

Taiwanese pro-democracy activist Lee Ming-che (???) attended a parade in Taipei Sunday to commemorate the 1959 Tibetan uprising against China to show solidarity with Tibetans and others who protest Chinese oppression.

Lee, 48, returned to Taiwan last year after serving a five-year jail term in China for “subverting state power.” He 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.

Speaking to reporters before attending the annual parade in Taipei to commemorate those who died during the Tibetan uprising against Chinese communist rule on March 10, 1959, Lee said that during his incarceration in China from 2017 to 2022, many exiled Tibetans offered support and called on Beijing for his release.

“They [Tibetans] are also suffering from their own pain and suffering yet they still did not forget to stand in solidarity with me,” Lee said, adding that “it is only natural” that now released, he chooses to take part in the parade to support the Tibetans.

Lee noted that Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to today’s democracy has being supported by many foreign nationals and countries, which is why people in Taiwan should also join Tibetans in exile “to let them know that they are not alone in chasing their dream to return home safely.”

The march, held annually in Taipei in early March since 2004, was originally intended to commemorate those who died during the Tibetan uprising against Chinese communist rule.

In recent years, the event has grown in terms of its size and scope, according to organizers, with this year’s event also supporting the people of Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa, a representative of the Tibetan government in exile to Taiwan, said before the march that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1950 and forced Tibetans to agree to the Seventeen Point Agreement the following year.

However, within seven years Beijing had breached clauses in the agreement that said religion and customs should be respected, by rolling out a series of policies aimed at fundamentally changing Tibet’s systems, the representative said.

These changes eventually led to the uprising of Tibetans against the Chinese government in March 1959, he said.

The protesters were violently cracked down on by the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso was forced to flee to India, where he later formed the Tibetan government in exile.

Over the past nearly seven decades, about 200,000 Tibetans have been killed with tens of thousands forced to leave their homes into exile, Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa claimed.

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 all Tibetans, Taiwanese and Chinese who face oppression from Beijing to join together to let their voice be heard so that one day they can witness true democracy and freedom in China and so Tibetans in exile will be able to return home.

Meanwhile, during the parade, Lee said that the 1959 Tibetan uprising was basically due to a peace accord it signed with Beijing.

However, that supposedly peace deal ultimately led to China taking over of Tibet and tens of thousands of Tibetan fleeing into exile, he said.

“Do we still want a peace deal [with China]?” he asked.

Lee went missing in March 2017 after he traveled to China’s Guangdong Province from Macau to visit friends. Ten days later, he was confirmed as having been arrested by the Chinese authorities on suspicion of “harming China’s national security,” amid increasingly tense relations between Taipei and Beijing less than a year after the Democratic Progressive Party took power.

Lee was accused of working with a Chinese national to circulate comments on social media and messaging platforms that attacked the Chinese Communist Party, China’s political system, and the Chinese government and promoting Western-style democracy.

Lee pleaded guilty during his trial and was sentenced to five years in prison, becoming the first Taiwanese citizen to be convicted of subversion of state power in China.

The Sunday parade kicked off at Exit 2 of MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station at around 2:20 p.m. with participants marching along Zhongxiao E. Road and turning into Songren Road to stage a brief protest in front of the Bank of China’s Taipei branch.

The procession then continued along Songshou Road, passing Songzhi Road and Section 5 of Xinyi Road and reaching the Taipei City Hall on Shifu Road near the Taipei 101 Building, where the march concluded at around 4:30 p.m.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) called on Beijing on Sunday to face up to the reality that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait do not belong to each other, in response to China’s reaffirmation of its commitment to the “one China principle” and the “1992 consensus” in its relations with Taiwan.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (???) said in his government work report at the opening of the annual National People’s Congress on Sunday that Beijing stands by the “one China” principle, which states that Taiwan is part of China, and the “1992 consensus.”

The “1992 consensus,” as Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT), which is currently the main opposition party, defines it, refers to a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between the then KMT administration and Beijing that both sides of the strait acknowledge that there is only “one China,” which both mainland China and Taiwan are part of, with each side free to interpret what that “one China” means.

Li also spelled out Beijing’s opposition to Taiwan independence and its aim to promote the peaceful development of relations with Taiwan and advance the process of China’s “peaceful reunification.”

He said in the work report that China should advance economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the strait and improve the systems and policies that contribute to the wellbeing of Taiwan compatriots.

In response, in a statement issued later that day, the MAC, which is responsible for cross-strait policies, called on Beijing to face up to the reality that the two sides of the strait are not subordinate to each other.

The MAC also asked China to respect Taiwanese people’s core concepts of firmly safeguarding the sovereignty, democracy, and freedom of the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name).

The MAC said China should deal with cross-strait affairs pragmatically in a rational, equal, and mutually respectful manner, in order to create conditions for positive interactions between the two sides.

Commenting on Li’s report, Chao Chun-shan (???), an honorary professor of China studies at Tamkang University, said that in the face of external and internal risks, China is expected to prioritize its relationship with the United States, dealing with the effects of a technology competition involving advanced chips with the U.S., and achieving a resilient economic recovery from COVID-19.

In comparison, the cross-strait relationship is a secondary issue for China, Chao indicated.

Chao said he expected that Beijing would seek stability across the Taiwan Strait given that Li’s work report comments on Taiwan was a rehash of statements already made previously and presented no new initiatives.

The only new thing was perhaps the proposal of advancing economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Taiwan, Chao added.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel

Taiwan’s passports are ranked the 72nd most powerful globally, down three spots from 2022, according to an annual passport index published recently by American consulting firm Nomad Capitalist.

The index ranks 199 citizenships on five factors, namely visa-free travel, which carries a 50 percent weighting, taxation of citizens (20 percent), and perception, dual citizenship and personal freedom (10 percent each), according to the company.

Taiwan’s passports received a score of 83.0 on the index for 2023, compared with 110.50 for the top passport on the list, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to the index, the UAE featured in the top 10 for the first time in 2023, jumping straight to number one from 35th last year.

“This is largely due to recent changes allowing foreigners to apply for dual citizenship, which, combined with the travel freedoms afforded by a UAE passport, plus the country’s business-friendly environment and enviable tax system,” it said.

The passports of Luxembourg and Switzerland were tied for second, followed by Ireland and Portugal in a tie, and Germany and the Czech Republic, also tied.

In Asia, South Korean passports are ranked 21st, Singapore’s 30th, Japan’s 38th, and China’s 128th, according to the list.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel