Taiwanese NGOs voice support for Uyghurs’ independence

Several Taiwanese NGOs voiced their support for Uyghurs’ struggle to build a sovereign nation and called others to take a stand against China’s oppression of the minority group, Focus Taiwan reported.In an event, Secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights Shih Yi-Hsiang said, “As human rights workers in Taiwan, the least we can do is speak out for the Uyghurs on the anniversary of the establishment of the East Turkestan Republics.”On East Turkestan Independence Day, an event was organized outside Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan, Ho Chao-Tung, who is also the president of the Taiwan East Turkestan Association.In the event, he said that the Uyghurs had been deprived of even the most basic human rights ever since they lost their sovereignty during the 1949 invasion of East Turkistan by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Uyghurs have been struggling for years to establish an independent East Turkestan.In 1933, Uyghurs succeeded in establishing East Turkistan Republics but it lived for a short period of time. Then, in 1944, they again established the East Turkistan Republics but this also didn’t live for longer periods of time, according to Focus Taiwan.This year, in August, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Michelle Bachelet released her report which stated that China has committed “serious human rights violations” against the Uyghur and “other predominantly Muslim communities” in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).