Keep Taiwan Free March

(from Keep Taiwan Free and United Nations for Taiwan)

Every year, our team of young activists hosts the annual United Nations Membership for Taiwan/Keep Taiwan Free rally. We invite you to join us as we raise awareness about Taiwan’s exclusion from the global community, including key institutions like the United Nations, as a result of intense pressure and intimidation tactics by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The Chinese government’s continued belligerence towards “the Taiwan issue” is a calculated manoeuvre, designed to shape international discourse in its own favor. The erasure of Taiwan in the public eye is a foundational step on its path to unobstructed colonization and expansionism.

In just the past year, the CCP has:
– Pressured international airlines to change naming conventions on their websites, barring all references to Taiwan as a country and replacing it with “China Taiwan” or similar verbiage
– Kidnapped and jailed citizens of other states, including Taiwan’s own Lee Ming-Che, applying their corrupt laws and black box justice system to those not under their jurisdiction
– Prevented a Taiwanese Youth Chorus from performing at the UN Centre in Vienna during the World Peace Choral Festival
– Manipulated the East Asian Olympic Committee (EAOC) to strip the city of Taichung from its right to host the East Asian Youth Games
– Escalated military action around Taiwan, in addition to continuing fly-by drills and keeping more than 1,500 missiles pointed at the island country at any time.

In addition to these targeted actions, China’s long arm continues to:
– Abuse human rights in East Turkestan and Tibet through advanced monitoring systems, internment camps and reeducation centers
– Exploit nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Eastern Europe through predatory lending practices with little oversight
– Infiltrate American educational institutions and compromise our academic freedom through establishing centers of censorship and CCP propaganda on college campuses (Confucius Institutes).

Now, more than ever, we need to stand up together. We need to let the world hear our voices, know about Taiwan’s situation, and seek more support in protecting democracy not only in Taiwan, United States, but also around the world.

Taiwan, Tibet, East Turkistan, Hong Kong- none of these are “internal issues” to be dealt with solely by an abusive, violent regime. Americans of all cultural and political backgrounds can find many reasons to support the people of Taiwan in their quest for democracy and self-determination. We stand with all peoples living under the shadow of authoritarianism, and call on our allies to hear our voices and stand with us in our struggle for freedom, democracy, and peace.

Let the world hear our voices as we call for a safer future for our children and grandchildren- together.

SCHEDULE –
12-1 pm : Assembly and Open Remarks
Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in New York – 520 12th Ave (42nd St and 12th Av)
1-3 pm : March from Consulate of PRC to UN Headquarters
3-4 pm : Rally and Closing Remarks
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
United Nations Plaza – Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (47th St and 1st Av)

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今年我們將會再度舉辦Keep Taiwan Free – UN for Taiwan爭取入聯活動，來喚起大家對於台灣受到國際社會的不公平對待及中國共產黨持續壓迫的注意。不論是最近預定在台中舉辦的東亞青年運動會被取消，還是要求許多航空公司將網站上將台灣改為中國的一省，都再再地提醒著我們中國不停地用各種手段去打壓台灣。因此，我們希望藉由這次活動是要讓大家認知到台灣在國際上邊緣化的危機，以及該如何去面對。

9/22大家一起站出來，讓全世界聽到我們的聲音，了解台灣的處境，並尋求對於台灣、美國甚至是全世界民主的聲援。

正當美國社會持續注意中國共產黨對於亞洲甚至全世界和平與人權的威脅的同時，我們相信此時此刻正是台灣人團結站在一起，將我們的訴求藉由紐約的這個國際文化大熔爐傳達出去，讓更多人注視到我們的問題，進而支持我們去建立穩定民主政體及一個獨立國家的最佳時機。