Taiwan calls for Dalai Lama’s visit to Taipei during celebrations of Tibet Democracy Day

Taiwan Parliament Group along with other rights groups has called for the Dalai Lama’s visit to Taipei over the human rights situation in Tibet.

For the last six years in a row, US think-tank Freedom House has ranked Tibet among the worst places in the world for civil rights and political freedom, according to the Free Tibet.

Under the Chinese Communist Party, nobody is free. Tibetans nevertheless have fewer civil and political rights than most.

Celebrating the 62nd anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day on Friday (Sep 2), the Taiwan Parliament Group for Tibet held a commemorative event along with other groups concerned with the development of human rights.

From the mass police surveillance of Lhasa’s busy streets to the torture that takes place in Tibet’s hidden detention centres, every day the Chinese government subjects Tibetans to suffocating control and the use of violence.

Every aspect of Tibetan life is under siege. Dissent, protest, or even wishing the Dalai Lama a happy birthday or having a Tibetan flag on your phone will turn you into a criminal. Tibetans have to censor themselves to avoid imprisonment.

Photos of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who resides in India since 1959, are banned in Tibet, and like every Tibetan previously found with his photos or videos, Karma was also charged with separatism - Photo. The Dalai Lama official Facebook page

“We should make more Tibetan friends and contacts with other Tibetan associations and organisations,” Lin Changzuo, Chairman of the Taiwan Parliament Group for Tibet said addressing the gathering.

“I believe that Taiwan and Tibet are two friendly societies with common values and hope that the international community will continue to pay attention to the human rights situation in Tibet and the democracy of the Tibetans in exile,” he added.

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The participating groups reminded people from all walks of life to pay attention to the human rights situation of Tibetans and hope for the Dalai Lama’s visit to Taiwan.

The right groups also mentioned about the United Nations report pointing out China’s serious human rights violations in Xinjiang.

The United Nations report published on August 31 says the Chinese government has committed abuses that may amount to crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic communities in the Xinjiang region.

The report by the outgoing UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet contains victim accounts that substantiate mass arbitrary detention, torture, and other serious human rights violations and recommends world to take action to end the abuses.

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The report recommends for the Chinese government to take steps to release those arbitrarily detained; clarify the whereabouts of detained family members; cease intimidation and reprisals against Uyghurs in connection with their advocacy; to cooperate with the ILO Committee of Experts recommendations; and provide “adequate remedy and reparation to victims” of human rights abuses.

It recommends that governments should “refrain from returning [Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples] to China” and “provide humanitarian assistance, including medical and psycho-social support, to victims in the States in which they are located.”

It is to be noted that the film “Kundun”, which is based on the life of Dalai Lama was also screened in a nearby theatre on the occasion of Tibetan Democracy Day.

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