Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have proposed revising military laws to stipulate that any active-duty military personnel who express allegiance to the enemy could face two to seven years in prison, adding that soldiers’ loyalty to the nation means “no freedom of expression.”

In the past few years some military personnel have pledged allegiance to China through videos and documents, but it is not punishable under the law.

In its draft amendment to Article 24 of the Criminal Code of the Armed Forces (陸海空軍刑法), the Ministry of National Defense proposed only making actions that “harm the military’s interests” punishable, citing freedom of speech in its reasoning for the draft amendment.

For more than seven decades, the Chinese Communist Party has claimed to govern Tibet with benevolence and progress. I have seen the truth behind the slogans. I have listened to the silences of monks forbidden to speak of the Dalai Lama, watched the erosion of our language in classrooms, and felt the quiet grief of a people whose prayers are monitored and whose culture is treated as a threat. That is why I will only accept complete independence for Tibet.

The so-called “autonomous region” is autonomous in name only. Decisions about religion, education and cultural preservation are made in Beijing, not Lhasa. Surveillance is omnipresent. Monasteries are forced to submit to party oversight. Children are taught to revere Mao Zedong (毛澤東) before they understand the teachings of the Buddha.