Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Civic groups condemned China’s military crackdown of Tibetan protesters and extended compassion for the victims in a press conference Tuesday, urging the Taiwan people to support Tibet.
“The military crackdown was not an independent case. Currently in China, there are protests against the Chinese regime as well as the ensuing crackdown, arrests and killings in every Tibetans-inhabited region, “said Wong Shih-chieh, Deputy Secretary-General of Taiwan Tibet Exchange Foundation (TTEF).
The cruel nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not change after the economical development, said Tsai Ting-kuei, President of Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP).
“Tibetans’forbearance and tolerance did not earn security but relentless suppression,”he added.
China launched a military action last week that has left over 100 people dead following a protest in Lhasa, capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) . Hundreds of Tibetans have died in unrest in Lhasa and elsewhere, the India-based Tibetan parliament-in-exile said in a statement Monday.
On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in an international press conference in Beijing that the unrest in Tibet was obviously masterminded by the“Dalai Lama organization”and the People’s Liberation Army was in Lhasa to prevent more killings by the protesters.
“Chinese government lies whenever it needs to and has to. It said the troops were sent to Lhasa to perform street cleaning. And it has said in the past 12 years in the World Health Organization assembly that China was responsible for the protection of Taiwan’s public health,“said Wu Shue-min, President of Taiwan Society, main organizer of the press conference.
“They were all lies,”Wu said.
Taiwanese should be able to identify the essence of the Chinese Communist regime after witnessing what has happened in Tibet, Wong said.
“Over the past 50 years China claimed it had helped Tibet with it economic development. If Tibetans enjoy a happy life, why would they risk their lives to fight against China?“he said.
Wong called for all Taiwanese to step up and voice their non-partisan support for Tibetans’fight for cultural preservation and religious freedom.
Yu Shyi-kun, former chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, also urged the international community–especially the United Nations–to actively engaged in rescuing those Tibetans in suffer.