Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: Human Rights Network for Taiwan and Tibet
A MOURNING CEREMONY was held in Liberty Plaza on Wednesday night, to memorialize the self-immolation of Tibetan activist Lobga Rangzen. Rangzen self-immolated outside of the United Nations headquarters earlier this month. It is thought that Rangzen’s self-immolation was timed to take place one day before China’s new ethnic unity law went into effect, with Rangzen–a well-known Tibetan activist–calling friends by video call shortly before he set fire to himself.
According to organizers, around 300 attended. Among the participants were Tibetans living in Taiwan, including representatives of the Tibetan government-in-exile, as well as Taiwanese and others. Apart from highlighting Rangzen’s life and what he stood for, participants also criticized the new ethnic unity law–officially the “Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress.”
Photo credit: Human Rights Network for Taiwan and Tibet
Specifically, the law aims to “forge a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.” As such, there have been warnings to date that it is possible that promoting Taiwanese independence, or even the maintenance of Taiwan’s de facto independence from China, as well as current democratic freedoms, could be constructed as against ethnic unity.
Nevertheless, the ethnic unity law was originally understood as directed against Tibetans, Uyghurs, and others whom China considers “ethnic minorities.” The law’s passage already takes place in the context of the mass imprisonment of Uyghurs in camps that are termed “vocational schools”, extensive surveillance of Uyghurs through technological means, as well as attempts to stamp out Tibetan culture and language through the use of boarding schools. If there has been more international attention on the situation faced by Tibetans and Uyghurs, the situation faced by the more than fifty ethnic minorities that there is a relative lack of focus on is also important.
If the target is primarily “ethnic minorities,” the attempt may be to shore up and consolidate existing laws, although Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other groups have already faced substantial repression without it. If the law is used to target Taiwanese, it would represent the growing use by China of an ethnic or civilizational frame when targeting Taiwan. It will become clearer as to who the main target of the ethnic unity law is now that it is in effect. But the chilling effects of the law have already been perceived globally.
Photo credit: Human Rights Network for Taiwan and Tibet
With the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, expected to pass away in the near future, China is expected to claim to be able to dictate who the choice of his successor will be, viewed as his future reincarnation. This would be a way of attempting to take control over Tibetan Buddhism as a religious institute, China having already kidnapped and disappeared the Panchen Lama, usually considered the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
Taiwan has long had annual commemorations of solidarity for Tibet, which see strong participation by Taiwanese civil society groups. This is particularly visible when Tibetan Uprising Day is commemorated in March, marking an uprising against China’s annexation of Tibet that occurred in 1959. This would prove another occasion in which Taiwanese civil society has mobilized for Tibet then, with Rangzen’s death having inspired global action in this sense.