Vice President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te addressing the gathering.
Taipei: Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa from the Office of Tibet (otherwise known as Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama) in Taiwan attended the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Taipei and discussed with Japanese Parliamentarian Miyazawa Hiroyuki the Tibetan freedom struggle on a sideline.
The two-day summit held on 7 and 8 September was jointly organised by the Legislative Yuan: the unicameral legislature of Taiwan, the U.S.-based China Aid, the Secretariat of IRF Summit, and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan. Around 150 participants, including diplomatic corps in Taiwan, co-chairs of Washington-based IRF Summit Sam Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett, and representatives from various religious organisations took part in the summit. The participants also consist of religious freedom advocates representing communities of Uyghur, Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan who discussed collaborating in countering Beijing’s violation of rights.
Among the representatives was Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa, who spoke to the gathering with instances about the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) infringement of Tibet’s religious and cultural rights inside Tibet.
The summit was also addressed by the current Vice President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te; Legislative Speaker You Si-kun; Minister Lin Yu-chang from the Ministry of the Interior; co-chairs of IRF Summit Sam Brownback and Katrina Lantos Swett; and others.
A thorough discussion over the PRC’s transnational persecution of spiritual heads or prominent religious figures and violation of religious freedom inside its territory was carried out during the course of the summit. It will further issue a joint statement soon.
On the sideline, Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa interacted with Japanese Parliamentarian Miyazawa Hiroyuki, who is also a member of the Japan Parliament Support Group for Tibet. The latter acknowledged Japan’s close relations with Tibet and expressed his support to the Tibetans.
-Report filed by OoT Taiwan
Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa with Taiwanese Legislative Speaker You Si-kun.
Minister Lin Yu-chang from the Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan, speaking at the IRF Summit.
Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa with Japanese Parliamentarian and Tibet Supporter, Miyazawa Hiroyuki.
Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa interacting with Japanese Parliamentarian and Tibet Supporter, Miyazawa Hiroyuki.
Group photo of Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa with former US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Nury A. Turkel, and the representative of Uyghur.
Group photo of Representative Kelsang Gyaltsen Bawa with other participants of the summit.
