Girard Mariano Lopezby Girard Mariano Lopez
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Photo Credit: Screenshot
TAIWAN SAW AN eventful weekend, as not only did a spontaneous rally take place in Taipei against the pan-Blue camp’s railroading of bills increasing the Legislative Yuan’s power, but also an attack on pro-Palestine groups took place at Daan Park’s “Love IsReal” concert last Saturday, May 18, 2024.
The Friends of Israel Alliance in Taiwan (以色列之友聯盟在台灣) organized “Love isReal” (愛以真), a concert expressing solidarity with Israel. It featured various local talents and a special theme song “Love Is Real” (愛是真實) song that opened the concert. KD Entertainment (肯定娛樂) spearheaded production for the event which included prominent local artists such as celebrated Golden Melody Award winner and Hakka singer Wing Lo (羅文裕), Melody Huang ( 黃友聞), Yabu Gaiyu (張藎庭), Jane (黃美珍), Ashley Lee 李聖雅, Sunny Chu 朱雅生, 李育倫 (U Learn Lee), BingHam Yeh (葉秉桓), and even a Bunun choir from Taitung.
Pro-Palestine protestor Temir being attacked
An estimated one thousand attendees from Taiwan’s Christian churches, Jewish and local communities showed up for the three-hour sing and dance production. Organizers announced that over 2,500,000 NT had been raised in their event.
Throughout the event, the organizers also played videos accusing Palestinian leadership of being oppressors within the Gaza Strip as well as various alleged crimes against humanity towards hostages and Israeli citizens–certain claims of which have been disputed. While the event called for hostages to be released, it did not call for a ceasefire on both parties amidst emphasizing the themes of “love” and “peace” in their messaging and song selections. Israel’s months-long siege on Gaza was also framed as a form of liberation of local Palestinians, emphasizing that aid has been sent and that the country is the Middle East’s “only democracy”. However, videos online have shown Israelis supportive of the war blocking aid to Gaza.
Aurora Chang being physically shoved
“Supporting oppression and genocide is not what Taiwan’s stance is supposed to be like,” says Malika, a member of Taiwan’s Muslim community.
In the middle of the event, dozens of anti-war protesters showed up at both sides of the concert’s stage, carrying a 10-meter long “Tears for Palestine ” banner representing civilian deaths in Gaza and placards in support of Palestine. A Kazakhstani pro-Palestine protester of Jewish descent was body-slammed into the ground by an alleged Israeli security official. The supposed Israeli security official reportedly preemptively attacked the Kazakhstani pro-Palestine protester on their own individual suspicion that the latter was carrying “dangerous items”. However, all the Kazakhstani pro-Palestine protester had in his bag was a piece of paper bearing a pro-Palestine slogan.
Pro-Palestine protestor being pushed
Elsewhere, an alleged board member of Taiwan’s Jewish community attacked a Taiwanese pro-Palestine protester carrying one side of the “Tears of Palestine” canvas. The same individual can be seen moments later shoving human rights activist Aurora Chang, who has publicly spoken out against the harassment she endured from pro-Israel participants in the concert. Not only did the individual utter what could be interpreted as threats of rape, but also attempted to snatch Chang’s Palestine flag multiple times before police created a barrier between the pro-Israel and pro-Palestine sides.
“The concert is supporting an apartheid state that has murdered over 30,000 people in the span of a few months and is engaged in war crimes against an entire population,” human rights activist Andy Liu said when asked why he had come to counterprotest the Love IsReal event. “The concert also is funded by so far undisclosed sources that managed to give more than a million NT while still repeatedly claiming they’re grassroots.”
What could be interpreted as a rape threat from the pro-Israel side to pro-Palestine protestor
The Kazakhstani pro-Palestine protester was sent to the hospital following the incident after suffering tissue damage, filing a police complaint against the alleged Israel security official. For Peace Taiwan says the protester plans to file a lawsuit against the individual involved in injuring them.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor has recently announced plans to file arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, along with other Israeli and Hamas military leaders. While Love IsReal concert organizers insist that Taiwan’s broad support for Israel reflects global opinion, a recent United Nations’ general assembly meeting showed support for Palestinian statehood by large margins while traditionally pro-Israel nations, including the US, have become more critical about their support in recent months.