Press Release – For immediate release
13 January 2020
Contact: World Uyghur Congress www.uyghurcongress.org
+49 89 5432 1999 or [email protected]

The World Uyghur Congress congratulates Tsau Ing-Wen for her re-election as the President of Taiwan. This is a symbolic victory, as it shows that Taiwan won’t be intimidated by Beijing’s pressure campaign.

Taiwan’s voters expressed their intentions to preserve democracy and freedom, and stand against an authoritarian regime. In the past months, we have witnessed the protests in Hong Kong against Beijing’s intrusion on the semiautonomous Chinese territory’s freedoms. This has shown the world that China is not ready to compromise. 

Despite China’s efforts to manipulate the outcome of the elections in Taiwan, the WUC is encouraged to see that the citizens chose to defend their territorial sovereignty. China may try to isolate Taiwan both diplomatically and economically, but the Taiwanese people need to stay united to prevent an authoritarian regime to take over. 

Uyghurs have been living under the yoke of Chinese oppression for decades. They have been subjected to Beijing’s assimilation policies aimed at eroding their religious identity and at accelerating cultural alienation. The PRC government’s fierce repression policies in East Turkistan led the way to an estimated 1-3 million Uyghurs being held without charge in different kinds of political indoctrination camps, since 2017. We therefore strongly support the Taiwan population and its government, and we hope that we can join our forces to advocate for democracy and freedom for both Uyghur and Taiwanese people. 

©Photo: Chiang Ying-ying