“At 12 noon on Saturday, May 8, the Milk Tea Alliance, a group of Asian community groups from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Burma and Thailand, gathered in front of Los Angeles City Hall to speak out against totalitarianism and tyranny.
“The Milk Tea Alliance (MTA) held up a pro-Hong Kong banner.
Li Xianqun, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Taiwanese Association for Public Affairs (FAPA), said that many Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Burma have a similar history to Taiwan in that they were oppressed by their governments and were militarily suppressed when their people resisted. He hopes that ethnic groups that have the same experience should support and help each other, saying, “We stand together for freedom, democracy and peace, and we want Asia to Peaceful coexistence, do not want a hegemonic state to exist, that hegemonic state is China (Communist Party), the strife and chaos created by the Chinese Communist Party in Asia is really intolerable, there are such things we must stand up.”
Li Xianqun, president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Taiwanese Association for Public Affairs (FAPA).
The association’s former president, Johnnie Wu, also greeted the participants in Cantonese, Taiwanese, Burmese, Thai, and English. He hoped to take this opportunity to let the American public know what happened to Asian countries, and to support the democracy and freedom movement in Asia. He said that according to the latest Freedom House report, Taiwan is ranked as the second freest country in Asia out of 38 countries in East Asia, which is the democratic happiness that Taiwanese people have fought for through years of hard work. Taiwanese have also been brutally suppressed by the government like Burmese are today, and many civilians have been killed innocently, so he reached out to his friends who need help, and Wu said, “If Taiwan can help, let Taiwan help.”
Johnnie Wu, former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Taiwan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA).
Mr. Lin, a member of the Hong Kong Forum of Los Angeles (HKFLA), said the Milk Tea Alliance has already organized events in Northern California and New York, and this is the first time a joint action has been held in Los Angeles. He said, “We all know that there are many countries in East and Southeast Asia that are facing political problems of varying degrees, and countries in East Asia are facing the suppression of the Chinese Communist Party, and countries in Southeast Asia are facing the encroachment of power and tyranny The threat of tyranny, in the past each country has carried out different activities against their own country, this time it is a joint effort to fight against the tyranny in Asia.”
Mr. Lam, a member of the Los Angeles Hong Kong Forum.
He said that in the past decade, Hong Kong people’s civil rights have been increasingly suppressed, with the Chinese Communist-controlled puppet government imposing all kinds of persecution on Hong Kong people. The recent unrest in Burma and Thailand has created a new world view for Hong Kong people around the world – that Hong Kong people stand on a united front with our milquetoast allies to fight against the injustice brought about by tyranny and to reclaim the right to self-determination for our homeland.
Mr. Lam also emphasized that “the Chinese people at large are also victims of repression. The Chinese Communist government and the Chinese people are different. We must let the public know that our struggle is against the Chinese Communist government and not China.”
Thet Lin Tun, head of the Burmese Students Organization at UCLA (BURSA at UCLA), who is currently double majoring in politics and economics, called for international attention and support for Burma, where thousands of people have lost their lives in opposition to tyranny since the coup by the Burmese junta on Feb. 1 of this year, which has used brutal methods to suppress ordinary people. He said, “There are more and more people internationally helping Burma, and we are getting a lot of international help.”
Thet Lin Tun, head of the Burmese Student Organization at UCLA (BURSA at UCLA).
Ii Maung calls on the Burmese military government to stop the repression and end the reign of terror, and for Burmese overseas to join forces with different community organizations to fight against totalitarian and military tyranny.
Burmese-Burmese-American Tang Meihua is a member of the Milk Tea Alliance, which speaks out against totalitarianism and tyranny.
Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, a member of the Association for Thai Democracy (ATD), said he was pleased to join other Asian groups in fighting injustice in East and South Asia. “Since April 2020, the “Milk Tea Coalition” has been operating in a decentralized manner on social networking platforms and launching campaigns around the world. The “milk tea” symbolizes the common preference of people in East and Southeast Asia, and also connects social activists from different parts of Asia to complain against totalitarian governments. She said, “We are members from different countries standing together to fight against injustice and for democracy and freedom in our homeland.”
Pongkwan Sawasdipakdi, a member of the Association for Thai Democracy (ATD), joins the Milk Tea Alliance to speak out against totalitarianism and tyranny.
The chairman of the Greater Los Angeles Area Taiwan Association, P.Y. Chen, also made a special trip to support the event, saying, “We live in the United States and we are all very used to democracy and we all know that political persecution is not allowed, but there are still many such things happening around the world, especially in Asian countries, so it is even more important for us Asians in the United States to stand up and support.”
P.Y. Chen, Chairman of the Greater Los Angeles Area Taiwan Association.
People walking through City Hall over the weekend stopped to take photos and passing cars honked their horns in solidarity as the issue of democracy in Asia gained more attention from the American public.
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