Annual Taipei march to mark 1959 Tibetan uprising, protest repression

Taipei, March 4 (CNA) An annual march commemorating the 1959 Tibetan uprising, themed around religious reincarnation, autonomy and resistance to transnational repression, will take place in Taipei on Saturday, organizers said Wednesday.

"Autonomy over reincarnation is not merely a religious matter, but lies at the core of Tibetans' freedom of belief and national dignity," said Kelsang Gyaltsen, chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, at a news conference outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

He said Chinese authorities are trying to control the recognition of the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, not out of respect for Tibetan Buddhism, nor for the Dalai Lama himself, "but because they are unable to truly control the faith and spiritual strength of the Tibetan people."

The Dalai Lama's followers consider him to be the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people and the most prominent figure in Tibetan Buddhism, which holds that high-ranking lamas are reborn after death and that their successors are traditionally identified through religious procedures.

Kelsang Gyaltsen said the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama -- now 90 and exiled from Tibet since 1959 -- must be decided independently by the Gaden Phodrang Trust designated by the Dalai Lama himself, and that "any political interference lacks legitimacy."

Kelsang Gyaltsen said that transnational repression by the Chinese authorities is spreading across the world and has also penetrated Taiwanese society through united front work, intimidation and manipulation of public opinion.

"We commemorate March 10 each year not to reopen the wounds of history, but to remind the world that the expansion of authoritarianism will not stop on its own," he said, hoping Taiwanese society would recognize the persistence of Tibetans' 67-year struggle and see the warning signs in it.

On March 10, 1959, an estimated 10,000 Tibetans gathered in Lhasa to protest Beijing's tightening control. The uprising was brutally suppressed, leading to the Dalai Lama's exile to India and around 150,000 Tibetans fleeing into exile overseas, according to the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan.

Since 2004, Tibetans in Taiwan and local NGOs have held an annual march in Taipei in early March to commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day. This year's march is set to gather at MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Station at 1 p.m. Saturday, pass by the Taipei branch of the Bank of China and end at Taipei 101.

A candlelight vigil will also be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Liberty Square.