Residents of Taipei marching in solidarity with Palestine in November 2023. Screenshot from the video “March for Ceasefire and Palestinian Solidarity in Taipei | TaiwanPlus News” from TaiwanPlus News YouTube channel. Fair use.

There is a widespread belief in pro-Chinese media that Taiwan, which relies heavily on the United States for security, is only an “American puppet” and does not form its own position on foreign security issues. One example of this is the Taiwanese government's support for Israel regarding the ongoing war in Gaza and the lack of any official criticism of the Israeli actions leading to the death of thousands of civilians.

While Taiwan showed official and public support for Ukraine in the days following Russia's invasion, the response to Israel's war in Gaza has been more muted. Most respondents of a public opinion study, conducted in November 2023 in Taiwan, shared that they approve of the Israeli government's policies in Gaza. However, there are a few Taiwanese, mostly activists, who express support for Palestinians.

For more, read Unpacking pro-Palestinian activism in Taiwan: Interview with Aurora Chang

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, Taiwan has seen several civic initiatives calling for an alternative discussion of events in Gaza. One of the people behind them is Temir Rustemuly, a native of Kazakhstan who has been living in Taiwan for many years. Temir began to engage in political activism at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He and fellow activists founded an organization called Taiwan Stands with Ukraine.

Photo of Temir Rustemuly. Used with permission.

On May 18, an employee of the Israeli diplomatic mission in Taiwan attacked Rustemuly when he tried to take out a banner with the words “Stop the war” at a pro-Israel concert in the capital Taipei.

Global Voices spoke with Rustemuly about what happened that evening, why Palestine is so important to him, how Taiwanese citizens perceive the war in Gaza, and the role of Taiwan’s anti-war activism. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Ramil Niyazov-Adylzhan (RN-A): Can you please describe what happened on the evening when you were attacked?  

Temir Rustemuly (TR): I went to a picnic with my friends in the city park, where a fundraising concert for Israel was happening. There were pro-Palestinian activist acquaintances there who thought I came to support them and gave me a poster.

They stood on the two sides of the stage and silently held posters. When I tried to open up my poster, I was attacked from behind. Without a word, a man immediately threw me to the ground and said: “Don’t even try to open it!” I broke free and tried to open the poster, after which the same person grabbed me again and said, “I will kill you, I will break your head,” and dragged me down the stage. That's where the video starts, where I'm still trying to open the poster, and the person throws me on the floor again.

Then the police stopped the attacker, and he began shouting that I have a bomb. According to him, he thought I was a terrorist. As one of the organizers of the concert, he had no right to attack me in a public park. The police ignored his cries and collected his identification information. I was taken to the hospital where they diagnosed soft tissue bruises and dirty scratches, which required a tetanus booster shot.

RN-A: What is the continuation of this story?

TR: I filed a police report against the attacker and learned that he was most likely an officer and head of security at the Israeli diplomatic mission in Taipei, and he may have immunity. It will take from two to six months to process this case since I stated that I would sue on two counts: assault and attempted murder.

The police told me that he could not have quietly attacked park visitors like that. Since a police detachment was attached to this event, and in emergency cases, he needed to contact the nearest officer, but not attack on his own.

RN-A: You are a Kazakh involved in pro-Palestinian political activism in Taiwan. Why is Palestine important to you?

TR: Palestine is connected to us all. Israel sells weapons and information products with the “battle-tested” label, which is achieved through military operations that maintain the occupation of Palestine. Thus, what they're experimenting with today could be used to shoot and track us from the rooftops of our cities tomorrow.

Also, from the Marxist point of view, Palestinians are used as second-class workers in Israel. Any uprisings like the one that occurred in October are part of the liberation and class struggle. The Israeli government did not work towards peaceful integration and only increased the division of peoples by investing heavily in maintaining the image of itself as a “democracy” and its neighbors as “terrorists.”

I am involved in anti-war activism in general. I started with supporting the people of Ukraine when states were not yet dynamic on such a scale as they are now, and such giants as the Red Cross, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, and others had not yet decided how and whom they could help.

RN-A: Through what resources do people in Taiwan follow the war in Gaza? How do you think it affects their perception of the war?

TR: Usually people in Taiwan watch local TV channels, which are affiliated with political parties such as DPP or KMT. Most of the coverage on Gaza is “neutral” or follows the US and Western mainstream media because it is a translation of the reports by CNN, BBC and such. Most of the information on Taiwanese TV is about local affairs and reporters rarely go outside of Taiwan and East Asia.

One might say that the Taiwanese people are ignorant of their government’s role in the US diplomatic and military support to Israel to counter Palestinian liberation efforts. However, I would argue against it. Taiwan’s support to Israel is just accepted by most people as inevitable, and it is based on their internal will because acting otherwise might compromise US support to Taiwan and eventually lead to annexation by China. Talking about Israel's atrocities means talking about atrocities committed by the US and other Western allies. So Taiwanese people are either centrist or indifferent and do not see a connection between the Palestinian struggle and the Taiwanese future.

RN-A: How does Taiwan’s anti-war activist community operate? What is the role and impact of this community in Taiwanese society?

TR: Taiwan has an interconnected network of groups that resist wars and injustices. For me as one of the founders of Taiwan Stands with Ukraine a big support was provided by groups of the Hong Kong independence movement, who at some point were supported by Tibetan movements, and we as an antiwar movement in Ukraine did support Friendship Group with Turkiye when their homes were struck by an earthquake. Many of these people are now supporting antiwar efforts in Palestine.

The main impact is the reminder of the endless suffering outside of Taiwan and that Taiwanese cooperation in arms and business are involved in these sufferings. This involvement is not visible for local factory employees, who are working overtime to keep the world's economy going. This involvement is not visible for working class that only have two hours to rest before going to bed and these two hours are filled with either centrist or pro-Israeli propaganda if they chose to watch TV. So activism that attracts local journalism actually has a great impact in Taiwan.