(TibetanReview.net, Mar15’26) – In what is seen as a Communist Party of China (CPC)-linked “transnational repression”, a candlelight vigil at Taipei’s Liberty Square on Mar 10, 2026 to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation rule was sought to be disrupted by a man who lit and threw firecrackers into the gathering, reported visiontimes.com Mar 14.
A man in a red shirt threw lit firecrackers into the crowd in an apparent attempt to disrupt the proceedings. Police arrested him on suspicion of violating assembly laws and intimidation statutes, the report said.
The report cited organizers as saying the incident reinforced their warnings that CPC-linked “transnational repression” was targeting Tibetan advocacy events on Taiwanese soil.
Those who organized or participated in the event included members of the Taiwan Tibetan Welfare Association, the Tibetan Youth Congress Taiwan chapter, and other organizations.
The gathering was addressed by Mr Kelsang Gyaltsen, chairman of the board of the Dalai Lama Religious Foundation, who has called Tibet an unresolved international dispute, not an internal Chinese affair. He has accused Beijing of implementing systematic policies designed to eliminate Tibetan national identity and committing crimes against humanity in occupied Tibet.
Ji Huirong, deputy chair of Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission, along with commissioners Tian Qiujin and Wang Youling, have also attended the vigil. In his address Ji has said Beijing’s repression now extends globally through threats and propaganda operations that amount to transnational repression,
The report said several Taiwanese legislators also attended and spoke. They included Wu Peiyi, chair of the Taiwan Parliamentary Tibet Caucus and a legislator from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP); Shen Boyang, a DPP legislator; and Chen Zhaozi, a Taiwan People’s Party legislator and member of the Tibet caucus.
The man wearing a red shirt was stated to have lit and thrown firecrackers into the crowd midway through the event. Police detained him and took him to a station for investigation. The vigil continued without further incident and concluded as planned.
Taipei’s Zhongzheng First Precinct has said the man’s actions potentially violated Article 31 of the Assembly and Parade Act, as well as criminal statutes covering public intimidation and coercion. Police have said anyone who attempts to use violence or other means to obstruct a lawful assembly will face strict enforcement.
The report cited organizers as saying the peace march event held in Taipei on Mar 7 to mark the uprising anniversary, as well as previous Tibet-related events in Taiwan, had encountered similar harassment.
“Opposing transnational repression is not a slogan,” they have said. “It is something that is happening in real time.”
Yeh Dahua, a commissioner on the National Human Rights Commission, who had participated in the march, has said Beijing had extended its repression of the Tibetan people to Hong Kong and Taiwan in recent year, using information operations designed to silence dissent and discourage public support for human rights.