David on Formosa

Three thousand people marched through the  streets of Taipei today to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising which was on 10 March. Today also marked one year since major protests in Tibet which led to a brutal crackdown by the Chinese government. The march, which began at Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station, was led by Tibetans living in Taiwan and Taiwan Friends of Tibet. A wide range of groups participated including the Presbyterian Church, Cheng Nan-jung Foundation and the DPP.

Members of Guts United (逆轉本部), including Freddy Lim, marched with a person dressed in a panda suit. Some of them wore t-shirts saying “Panda is from Tibet”.

The crowd stretched out over a long distance on Zhongxiao East Road as it marched towards Taipei 101. The crowd chanted slogans such as “Long live the Dalai Lama” and “UNO we want justice!”

This sign which translates as “Today Tibet, tomorrow Taiwan!” (今日圖博，明日台灣) is a reminder of the fears that many Taiwanese people hold about a potential Communist Chinese take over of Taiwan. The date also marked the fourth anniversary of China passing the Anti-Secession Law, which authorises the use of force by the Chinese government if Taiwan formally declares independence.

As the march reached the  corner of Zhongxiao and Guangfu Roads, DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) joined the march.

Tsai Ing-wen continued on the march until it reached its end at Taipei 101. The march was a strong show of support by the Taiwanese people for the Tibetan freedom struggle.

*More photos in the 314 Tibet protest set at flickr. (More photos to be uploaded in the next few days).