Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Taiwanese people should understand Tibet more and show more compassion to the region that like Taiwan has also been oppressed by China for decades, a civic group said Tuesday.
The people of Taiwan can do more than just participate in a prayer day and a march from 228 Memorial Park to Ximending June 3, said a Taiwan Tibet Exchange Association (TTEF) researcher who preferred to remain anonymous.
TTEF is the main organizer of "The Prayer Day for World Peace and Human Rights in Tibet, " a serial multinational event that was launched in Bangkok, Thailand May 27 and includes stops in Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan, India and Mongolia.
"One thing we can learn from Tibet is that, as much oppression as Taiwan had experienced from China, there have been many minority people in China suffering from the same oppression, " the researcher said.
"We should feel fortunate for our economic prosperity and political development in Taiwan. We can elect our own national leader. These are things that the Tibetans don't have, " she said.
"And the Tibetans haven't given up on fighting for freedom and independence. Some overseas Tibetan refugees could have been living luxurious lives in the West, given their financial status and educational background, but they are still devoting all their energy and life to the movement, " she claimed.
"That kind of effort and persistence should be recognized by the people of Taiwan and deserves our attention and support, " she added.
Taiwanese should also show the sympathy and empathy to Tibet from the perspective of human rights, because the Chinese government has not restrained its cultural, economic, political and religious control and oppression of Tibet 40 years after the Cultural Revolution, she said.
Other civic groups and volunteers in Taiwan have started taking action to help Tibet, such as the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund, she said.