Taipei - Tibetans in Taiwan held demonstrations and
rallies on Tuesday to mark the 50th anniversary of China's 1959
occupation of Tibet.
Two Taiwan cities and one county have declared March 10 as 'Tibet
Day' as a protest to commemorate the Dalai Lama's fleeing Tibet to
seek exile in India, as the Tibet Day.
The three places are Kaohsiung City, Pingtung County and Tainan
City.
On Tuesday morning, Tibetan exiles and their supporters held a
rally in the Cental Park in Kaohsiung, south Taiwan.
Dawa Tsering, the Dalai Lama's representative to Taiwan, and
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu, hoisted the Tibetan national flag and Dawa
Tsering read the Dalai Lama's message.
In the message, the Dalai Lama condemned Chinese authorities for
oppressing the Tibetan people, but suggested Beijing re-open talks
with his envoys to find a solution to the issue of Tibet.
'China forces the Tibetan government-in-exile to admit that Tibet
has belonged to China since ancient times. This is unreasonable.
History is history and cannot be changed. To distort history for the
sake of politics is not honest,' the Dalai Lama said.
The Dalai Lama reiterated that Tibet is willing to remain within
the framework of China, and he will continue to use non-violent means
to seek real autonomy for Tibet.
On Tuesday afternoon, the rally moved from Kaohsiung to Taipei in
north Taiwan.
After darkness fell, the protesters lit candles to form the
number 50 to mark the 50 anniversary of the failed uprising against
China's occupation.
On Saturday, Tibetan exiles and supporters will hold a street
march through Taipei to protest China's suppressing human rights in
Tibet.
Taiwan has close links with the Tibetan government-in-exile, and
the Dalai Lama visited Taiwan in 1997 and 2001 to give lectures on
Buddhism.
Several civic groups have invited the Dalai Lama to visit Taiwan
again, but the visit seems unlikely in the near future as President
Ma Ying-jeou is seeking to improve ties with China.
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