Taipei: Kalon Norzin Dolma and Secretary Karma Choeying of the Department of Information and International Relations, Central Tibetan Administration met with You Si-Kun (President of the Legislative Yuan and former Prime Minister of Taiwan), Freddy Lim (Chair of the Taiwanese Parliamentary Group for Tibet), legislators Sun Han-Hung and Wang Ting-yu (President of National Human Rights Commission of Taiwan) on Wednesday.
During the hour-long meeting, the office of the President of the Legislative Yuan organised a press conference where Kalon Norzin Dolma was officially welcomed. Representative of the Office of Tibet, Taiwan, Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa translated the President’s welcome remark.
Addressing the congregation of Taiwanese media, Kalon Norzin Dolma expressed her appreciation for the exemplary image of Taiwan as a free democratic country whose citizens are known for their kindness and said she was pleased that Taiwan had become the country of her maiden official visit to Asian neighbours.
Thanking the President of the Legislative Yuan, the legislators, and the media personnel, Kalon said her meeting with the distinguished Taiwanese lawmakers today reassured their strong support and concern for the Tibetan people.
Kalon highlighted the critical and deteriorating situation in Tibet that has been driving Tibetans in Tibet, from all walks of life, to self-immolate in protest against the repressive policies of the Chinese government that aim to erase Tibetan language, identity and culture. Kalon said the time has come for all freedom-loving countries to stand in unison in countering China’s growing aggression.
While noting the current stalemate in the Sino-Tibet dialogue due to China’s unwillingness to resume the dialogue, Kalon reiterated CTA’s firm commitment to resolving the conflict through peaceful negotiation based on the Middle Way Approach.
After the press briefing, Kalon and the Taiwanese lawmakers had an in-depth discussion on key issues for about half an hour, during which the lawmakers extended their solidarity and reaffirmed their continued support. The lawmakers also discussed ways possible to address the visa issues faced by the Tibetans in Taiwan.
During the meeting, Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa facilitated the translation of Tibetan into Chinese and vice versa. In the evening, the Taiwanese Parliamentary Group for Tibet organised a gala dinner to honour the maiden visit of the CTA delegation.
– Reported by OoT, Taiwan