By Chen Chih-cheng and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
The Taiwan Anti-Aggression Day Singing Festival was arranged with inspiration from Estonia’s history, organizers of the Taipei event told a news conference yesterday, adding that it was in defiance of China’s proposed “law on promoting ethnic unity and progress.”
The planned Chinese legislation would further suppress democracy and freedom of Taiwanese, said Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強), convener of the Economic Democracy Union, one of the groups that are organizing the music festival at 228 Peace Memorial Park on Saturday.
The organizers — which also include Taiwan Citizen Front, the Taiwan North Coast Democratic Resilience Association, the Civil Defense Training Group, the Association of Parent Participating Education in Taiwan — took inspiration from the Estonian National Song Festival, commonly called Laulupidu, Lai said.
Photo: Tu Chien-rong, Taipei Times
The Laulupidu festival was first held in 1869 during a period of Estonian national awakening, he said. Since 1923, it has been staged every five years in the summer in the capital, Tallinn.
It is was an event at which Estonians during the Cold War would demand self-governance and independence from Soviet rule, he said.
In Taiwan “we face hostile Chinese forces conducting militiary aggression, and threatening war against Taiwan,” he said. “Our people are undergoing a similar patriotic national awakening as Estonians did, as we are fighting persistent intimidation and political propaganda from China.”
“The festival is to convey the same spirit of freedom and democracy [as Laulupidu], to solidify resilience among Taiwanese, to reject fear and defy Chinese aggression,” Lai said.
Economic Democracy Union deputy secretary-general Chen Ku-hsiung (陳估熊) said that the Taipei festival consists of three major components: a Democracy Street Tank Stage and Life Festival in the afternoon, followed by a Formosa Music Stage at 6pm.
Performances by artists from Taiwan, including indigenous groups, and Vietnam would feature throughout the day, Chen said.
The Life Festival would have events and stalls arranged by civil defense training groups, parent-child education groups, community aid groups, vendors and others, Chen said.
The Formosa Music Stage would focus on storytelling that promotes national unity, diversity, civil defense and resistance, democracy and resiliency, Chen added.
The Taiwan North Sea Democratic Resilience Association said that many states are re-examining UN Resolution 2758, highlighting that Taiwan’s status was undetermined by deals signed shortly after World War II.
The world is more aware that Taiwan is not part of China, and that Taiwanese have freedom and seek formal independence, as they have full democracy, it said.