Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Brian Hioe
A DEMONSTRATION in support of Gaza was held today in Liberty Plaza, despite sweltering heat. The main organizer of the protest was Amnesty International Taiwan. The demonstration began at 4 PM under the archway in Liberty Plaza, a frequent site for protests in Taiwan, and participants were called on to wear red to the protest. All speeches and moderation for the protest were conducted bilingually in English and Mandarin.
Photo credit: Brian Hioe
The theme of the protest was to “Demand a Red Line Against Genocide.” As such, for the demonstration, participants held a twenty-meter red cloth with slogans demanding an end to genocide on it. In English, the banner read “Starving Children is a Red Line,” while in Chinese, the slogan read “Blocking Aid = Genocide”. Specifically, the demonstration is part of a worldwide series of demonstrations, and the framing for the event highlighted Israel’s preventing the Madleen from entering Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla. The framing also drew attention to how 50,000 children have been injured or killed in Gaza, there has been a deliberate attempt to starve the population of Gaza with aid being blocked, and 92% of homes and 94% of hospitals have been damaged or destroyed.
The first speaker at the event was Kerim Friedman, a Jewish American professor with Taiwanese citizenship living in Taiwan. Friedman spoke of how critique of Israel is not anti-Semitism, even as Israel has sought to deflect criticism of its genocide of Palestinians through such claims.
Photo credit: Brian Hioe
Shih Yi-hsiang of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights was one of several speakers who raised that Taiwan has been quite supportive of Ukraine, but has failed to stand in support of Palestine. A number of speakers highlighted Israel’s flagrant violation of international human rights conventions, in targeting medics, journalists, and other non-combatants. Other speakers who brought this up included Yang Kang and Aurora Chang, who have both been active in Palestine activism, highlighting the need to see Taiwan’s struggle for independence in the face of constant military threats from China as parallel to Palestine, Tibet, Xinjiang, Congo, and other countries.
Indeed, the irony of that many in Taiwan see Taiwan as having more parallels to Israel was discussed in this context. Causes ventured as to why this may be included because of Taiwan’s strong ties to the United States, which has been strong in support for Israel, a desire for Taiwan to become a military power similar to Israel, and trade ties with Israel. The Taiwanese government was criticized for a now-suspended working holiday program to Israel, which was suspended after Israel’s attack on Iran. Chang also spoke of how pro-Palestine organizers have faced death threats, threats of sexual assault, as well as racist and Islamophobic accusations, for their activism, from people who would otherwise claim to stand for democratic values in Taiwan.
Photo credit: Brian Hioe
Apart from holding a twenty-meter red cloth for the duration of the protest, placards featuring pictures of children killed in May last month were held up by participants for a photo. Ten photos were enlarged, while another placard displayed 72 smaller photos. QR codes for two letters, one of which is directed to the Taiwanese government and the other of which is directed to the Israeli government, were passed around by organizers.
To conclude the demonstration, a die-in was held. Two other red cloths were brought out and laid out on the ground. Participants then lay on and between the red cloths, while placards with slogans calling for an end to the genocide were brought out for participants to hold while lying on the ground.
Photo credit: Brian Hioe
Partly due to that the demonstration this time around was organized by Amnesty International Taiwan, there was less presence by pro-unification left groups at the protest, who would object to criticisms of China over its own genocidal actions. Gaza protests to date have been among the rare occasions in which pro-sovereignty, human rights, and pro-unification groups all appear in support of the same cause, but this has led to the tarring of pro-sovereignty and human rights groups that participate in Gaza organizing of being secretly pro-China. For many in Taiwan, Palestine is associated with China, due to China’s nominal support of Palestine, in spite of that China is Israel’s third-largest trading partner, and substantial links exist between Israel and China in terms of economic trade and technology transfer.
It is to be seen how to capture the broader attention of the public, then. Before the protest today at Liberty Plaza, last Friday, the Taiwan branch of Doctors Without Borders held a demonstration in Taipei’s Xinyi District calling on Israel to stop blocking aid to Gaza, stating that the Taiwanese doctors who had served with Doctors Without Borders in Taiwan saw clear signs of ethnic cleansing. It is to be seen what future actions will take place.