Annual Taipei march marks Tibetan uprising, warns Taiwan of China threat

Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Around 300 people joined an annual march in Taipei on Saturday to commemorate the 1959 Tibetan uprising, with organizers warning that China's "expansion of authoritarian rule will not stop in just one place."

"Tibet's story is also a reminder to the world, especially Taiwan," said Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa, chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, before the march began on Saturday afternoon.

"The expansion of authoritarian rule will not stop in just one place," he said, adding that China's influence has already reached Uyghurs, Southern Mongolians, Hong Kong and other parts of the world through "transnational repression, united front infiltration and long-arm jurisdiction."

Against that backdrop, Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa said it is important to commemorate Tibetan Uprising Day in Taiwan so that calls from the island country to defend Tibet's dignity and democracy can be heard around the world.

The Tibetan Uprising Day he referred to falls on March 10, commemorating the day in 1959 when 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.

Also joining the march, Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), a commissioner at Taiwan's National Human Rights Commission, said Taiwanese had, over the past 67 years, seen how Tibetans had "fearlessly resisted" the "brutal rule" of Chinese authorities while steadfastly defending their freedom and faith.

"Supporting Tibet means supporting Taiwan's own democracy and freedom," Yeh said, adding that Taiwanese society should stand with Tibetans to "safeguard the autonomy of religious reincarnation and resist transnational repression," the theme of this year's march.

Voices from participants

Among the crowd chanting "Free Tibet," university student Jacky Ling told CNA that Taiwanese could learn from Tibetans about identity, noting that they firmly identify themselves as Tibetan and preserve their own religion, language and clothing.

"In matters of national identity, if you do not have a clear sense of who you are, it becomes very easy for outside voices to define you, and you end up becoming whatever they say you are," he said, referring to China's efforts to reshape how Taiwanese see themselves.

John Isom, a retired geography lecturer from the University of California, Berkeley, said he had taken part in similar Tibet-related commemorative events in the United States and was pleased to see one held in Taiwan as well.

Having lived in Taiwan for a year to make it easier to travel to Nepal and India for work related to Tibetan issues, Isom said Tibetans in Nepal, which borders Tibet, cannot hold similar commemorative events or "speak these truths because of transnational repression."

"Taiwan respects people's right to self-expression, to freedom of assembly, and to be able to tell others their history without fear from police or from coercion," he added.

Following the march on Saturday, which organizers said drew 300 attendees, a candlelight vigil will also be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Liberty Square.