Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Human rights groups call for end to Syrian violence

Taipei Times

Supporters of Amnesty International and several other human rights groups hold a protest outside the Russian representative office in Taipei yesterday, calling on Russia to stop supplying arms to Syria.
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hua, Taipei Times

Human rights groups yesterday protested outside the Russian representative office in Taipei, condemning what they said was the Moscow-sponsored violence in Syria, while urging the Russian government to suspend arms sales to the Syrian government.

Since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March last year, more than 14,000 people have reportedly been killed. Many were civilians who died from government artillery and tank shellings, or were shot at close range. Despite the escalation of violence, Moscow continues to sell weapons to its ally in Damascus.

China arrests wife and relatives of Tibetan self-immolator

Tendar Tsering

Ngawang Norphel, 22 and Tenzin Khedup, 24

DHARAMSHALA, June 26: Chinese authorities in eastern Tibet have arrested family members of Ngawang Norphel, including his wife, following his self-immolation protest last week.

According to reports, a day after Ngawang Norphel and Tenzin Khedup set themselves on fire in Zatoe town calling for Tibet’s independence and long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the former’s wife Dolma Dicki along with two other relatives were arrested.

Yunlin farmer’s suicide attempt brings attention to equipment delivery delays

Taipei Times

A farmer in Chiayi County yesterday takes advantage of the good weather to take in the harvest.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times

The plight of a 69-year-old farmer who attempted to commit suicide after being unable to salvage his crops in time to avoid further damage caused by the recent rains has attracted officials’ attention to the delayed delivery of mechanical reapers to farmers.

The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that the farmer from Dounan Township (斗南) in Yunlin County, surnamed Lin (林), drank pesticide in a fit of despair the night after he had waited in vain for mechanical reapers that never arrived.

Taiwan, China need a ‘special friendship’

Nat Bellocchi 白樂崎

Harvard professor emeritus Ezra Vogel recently visited Taiwan for the release of the Hanji edition of his new book on former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平). During his visit, Vogel said Taiwan’s democracy was inspiring for China and could serve as a model for China’s democratic development.

While I fervently hope that China will become a democratic country, I cannot agree that the Taiwanese experience can serve as a model. First, Taiwan’s transition to democracy was very much due to the unique situation in Taiwan during the 1980s. The majority of Taiwanese had been disenfranchised during four decades of martial law under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration and rose up to claim their right to a representative government. It is therefore very much a democracy with a Taiwanese character.

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