Taiwan-based Tibetans protest China's occupation of Tibet

Mar 10, 2009, 15:04 GMT

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.