Information about the blog action and how you can take part, please scroll down!!!
It’s certainly not what the Chinese government wanted, a protest in their most hated province Tibet in the year of the Beijing Olympics. Now it has happened: Tibetians went on streets to protest against their oppressing and cruel government. China, which is known for its human rights violations, has now again proved what everyone knew: They silenced a helpless crowd that wanted to show the whole world its desperate situation.
Journalists who wanted to report (what should be legal according to the olympic rules) were constrained much. Although in the times of the internet, some information found its way through to the western hemisphere. One of these pieces of evidence is a frightening YouTube video of these protests:
Another one shows a reporter, being intimidated by local policemen:
I really want to ask you: Do you want to support such a country? Everyone who wants to do something: PLEASE BOYCOTT THE 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES!!! The only way to do something against it.
If you’re not sure whether you should or not, here another video, which is not as funny as it may look like as we all know that over a million people were forced to leave their homes for stadiums and other olympic preparations:
Further information about the displacements: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009364949
This blog takes part in the Free Tibet! blog action of Rainbow-Net: http://blog.rainbownet.ch/uncategorized/blog-action-free-tibet-now Please consider a visit there as well!!!
I am an American Buddhist and I don’t like what I saw on the news on Tibet. Mob stoning passers-by, hitting motorists(men, women, girls) and dragging them off their bikes, setting fire to bikes, turning over trucks and lighting them on fire, smashing stores and setting them ablaze. I saw charred remains of 5 store clerks who were trapped in their store when it was looted and torched. THESE ARE VIOLENT , NOT PEACEFUL ACTS. FREEDOM OF SPEECH COMES WITH RULE OF LAW. THESE ACTS ARE NOT COMPASSION PREACHED IN BUDDHISM. WHOEVER BEHIND THESE ACTS ARE ANTI-BUDDHA, ANTI-CHRIST AND GO AGAINST ALL HUMAN DECENCY.
DALAI AND R GERE, you have broken the vow of PANCHA SILA or FIVE PRECEPTS:
#1 Thou shall not kill
#2 Thou shall not take what is not given
#3 Thou shall not distort facts
#4 Thou shall refrain from misuse of the senses
#5 Thou shall refrain from self-intoxication through alcohol or drugs
Yes, I think you are right there. It’s certainly not right to apply violence to attain a goal. Nevertheless, I think that those demonstrators applying violence were in the minority on that day.
Anyway, I’ve got the impression, that many people in Tibet are oppressed very much by the Chinese government and it was maybe just their chance to make people around the world aware of their desperate situation, in the year of the Beijing olympics. I mean they are the ones who cannot speak freely about their problems, not even via internet. Violence seems to be the last resort for some of them.
Defy the Chinese-government hackers-Post your support
Webmasters, please use the following code, substituting ‘v’ brackets for “L” brackets. [a href="http://www.freetibet.org/"] “I support the Tibetan people in their struggle for religious freedom and human rights [/A]
The Chinese-government sanctioned hackers can’t block us all!
I support the Tibetan people in their struggle for religious freedom and human rights
Antares 4 Tibet:
http://www.antareshandball.ilcannocchiale.it/post/1830197.html
If our leaders are too chicken to stand up for human rights, let’s organize a boycott of the sponsors of the Olympics. We need organized letter writing campaigns to Coca Cola, NBC, etc., expressing our intent to boycott their products if they don’t speak out in favor of Tibet and the Dalai Lama.
Bjork’s Tibet cry angers fans in China
By Richard Spencer in Beijing
Last Updated: 2:40am GMT 05/03/2008
Bjork, the Icelandic singer, has caused controversy in China by seeming to end a concert in Shanghai with an appeal for Tibetan independence.
Bjork’s Tibet cry set off complaints online
The singer, who has a track record of supporting political causes, ended her concert by singing her song “Declare Independence” as an encore. Before its final rallying cry of “Raise your flag!” she intoned “Tibet, Tibet” repeatedly.
The song, originally written in support of independence movements in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, includes lyrics such as: “Declare independence! Don’t let them do that to you!”
The singer spoke and sang in English, and the Chinese who made up half the audience may not have understood her. Tibet is known as Xizang in Mandarin.
There seemed to be no reaction at the time but condemnation was swift on China’s hyperactive and often nationalistic internet bulletin boards and blogs.
advertisement
“If she wants to be political, please go home and mind her own business, please don’t buzz about other country’s inner affairs,” wrote one contributor on the English-language danwei.org.
“It was obviously arranged in advance,” wrote another on the popular Tianya forum. “To play with people using language difficulties is contemptuous.”
Others pointed out that not only would she be unlikely to be invited back to China, but she would make it more difficult for other performers with “edgy” reputations to be granted permission to come.
“At this gig, she may have taken a stance and made a name for herself – but it’s a big loss for Chinese music fans and music agencies,” wrote “doudouwei”, from Beijing, on the Chinese website douban.com
However, the authorities may be kicking themselves for not doing their homework.
Last month, Bjork had an invitation to perform in Serbia dropped after she used the same song to welcome Kosovo’s declaration of independence at a concert in Japan.
http://www.noolympics2008.com/
To: ’senator@biden.senate.gov’; ’senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov’; ‘john_kerry@kerry.senate.gov’; ’sen_dodd@dodd.senate.gov’; ’senator@feinstein.senate.gov’; ’senator@feingold.senate.gov’; ’senator@boxer.senate.gov’
Cc: ’sf.nancy@mail.house.gov’; ‘mullint@nrf.com’; ‘barak_obama@obama.senate.gov’; ‘john_mccain@mccain.senate.gov’; ‘hillary_clinton@clinton.senate.gov’; ‘president@whitehouse.gov’
Subject: Peoples Republic of China – A Year in Review
To my honorable representatives,
I am writing to express in the strongest terms my exasperation on how the United States of America is conducting both business and diplomacy with The People’s Republic of China. I have lived, studied, and worked both in China and Taiwan for over 10 years. I have studied Chinese history for much longer than this, becoming fluent in spoken Chinese, and worked closely with China based IT businesses. I respectfully suggest that my experience allows me the right to address certain matters which our current administration is either unwilling or unable to grasp. Finally, as you can see from my email address, I work at the world’s largest software company and we most certainly have a dog in this fight.
Allow me to list a few of the many items that would suggest that continuing with the current course of appeasement of the PRC’s outrageous behavior is ineffective and can no longer be tolerated.
The primary issue must be the continued brutal subjugation, minimization, and oppression of Tibetans by the PRC. An entire generation of Tibetans now have never been able to (legally) view a picture of their spiritual leader. They have been forced to speak a foreign language, and are belittled and treated like second class citizens in their own country. They are quite frankly an endangered species. This reprehensible behavior toward a peaceful, gentle, and humble population which are great friends of the United States must stop.
This behavior by the PRC, not only to Tibet, but similarly to Taiwan, and Urumqi, is rooted in paranoid insecurity which all communist regimes seem to have. Coupled with their fear of losing the single party monopolistic power – and all the perks which are inherit with a monopoly, clearly suggests the only effective diplomacy with the PRC must include economic deterrents (not just verbal diplomacy).
Ladies and Gentleman, many carefully worded public statements have been made by yourselves and other well intended senior Whitehouse officials, but words as we have seen, are not enough. Indeed, our words, selected and spoken so carefully as they are, will always interpreted incorrectly/differently by the PRC leadership due to their paranoia, hate-based nationalistic propaganda, and poor understanding of the International landscape, which is evidenced by their repeated diplomatic blunders over the past year. Sanctions with an economic effect is the only message that would seem to be effective and received without error.
While paling in comparison with the above atrocity, here are further reasons that our methods of dealing with the PRC must change. This is a highlight of PRC’s 2007 Report Card:
• Espionage: Attempts by the PRC’s military to gain illegal access to Pentagon computers, continued recruitment by the PRC of Chinese Americans to spy and steal industrial secrets from their U.S. employers. They also hope to gain technological equilibrium with us under the label ‘technology transfer’.
• Violation of Intellectual Property/Trademark infringement: This needs no elaboration. Entire companies have been ruined because of this.
• Product Tampering/Substandard Products: Continued adulteration of consumer products and foods with damaging consequences (real as well as consumer confidence) pet food, lead in toys, anti-freeze in tooth paste, adulterated pharmaceuticals, substandard tires, contaminates added to food products. Note that all of this is for the sake of maximization of profits at the expense of everything else. During my days in China, I even purchased fake bottled water! (trust me, you don’t want to know)
• Diplomatic Hostilities: Recent “demands” by the PRC for the U.S. to “report” every action from shooting down satellites to miss-shipping parts to Taiwan, all in the last year, refusal of port of entry on scheduled visit to Hong Kong by the USS Nimitz.
• Hostilities toward Taiwan – another great friend of the United States – with over 1000 ballistic missiles poised and ready for firing at Taiwan, and the continuing interference in Taiwan’s democratic process.
• Hostilities toward the United States – manipulation of RMB values, arbitrary and unfair import taxes on various US products (while we have no such taxes), glee and celebration over the 9/11 attacks (yes, I was working in Beijing at the time and saw this with my own eyes).
These are just a few of the actions that have taken place in the U.S. in the past year; there are many others with equal or direr effects to the people of the United States. But, my friends, despite all of the above, the PRC continues with business as usual, treating human worldwide, and the international community, as nothing more than an economic transfer ‘point of sale’ – and mind you, with no warranty!
I urge you to take measurable financial actions that will show clearly that the US shall not continue on this course with our largest trading partner who is also clearly an enemy Human Rights, Freedom, and Rule of Law. Finally, I wish to correct the misplaced notion among many in our current Administration is that increased economic wealth in China will increase desire for freedom. This is not correct, and infact has the opposite effect. Increased wealth and growing middle class in China both validates the communist leaderships existence, and gives citizens more to lose when fighting for change. Historically in China, the lowest most impoverished classes have always initiated change. Any casual observer of Chinese history knows this to be true. Why some in our administration are oblivious to this is beyond me.
Also, why is it that no other communist dictatorship in the world benefits from their unconscionable actions, both in the trade arena and the geo-political arena like the PRC does?. Ronald Reagan would never have let us get into this mess we are in now, but there is still hope. May I suggest we start with removal of their Most Favored Nation Status? I understand that the National Retailer Association will apply pressure to avoid any disruption of their PRC supply chain, however surely there is something more important to the United States of America (its leaders and its people) than being able to buy cheap Chinese goods.
It is the responsibly of managers to maximize profits, but it is the responsibility of our political elected officials to maximize life, liberty and the pursuit of freedom not only for Americans, but for our less fortunate friends.
Boycott the Olympics! So what some Chinese died. Big whooping deal. 1.2 million Tibetans were killed. As herbsblatt wrote, it is worth it to shed Chinese blood for the world to see our cause. It is time for the Chinese, instead of Tibetans, to be killed.
Hi TashiG!
PLEASE DON’T EVER AGAIN post comments that appeal for violence in any way against other people on my blog (otherwise they will get deleted)! I think what I wanted to express with this post was that people should be more courageous to fight against injustices, but in a PEACEFUL, NEGOTIATING WAY (btw: that is what the Dalai Lama thinks as well).
I want to stress again that VIOLENCE IS NO SOLUTION IN ANY WAY!!! Tibetians who are treated badly should beat back with mental strength to uncover the violent strategy of the Chinese government. They should seek solutions with the government to bring an end to human rights violations. Bringing democracy to a country can be a long, rocky way but it is never achieved with violence.
I support your call wholeheartedly, but for an entirely different reason. Just imagine this scenario of your complete success: If all Western countries boycott it, most nations of the Non-West will still join the Chinese and thus make the event truly for the Browns, the Yellows, the Blacks, and any hues in between (plus a few whites from Russia perhaps). Such a reverse of the 1936 Berlin Olympics will unite all nations of colors. The current leaders of China, as much as they want to join the (Western) world system of capitalism, will grudgingly accept China’s new role as the center of the developing world, a dream the late Chairman Mao could never have realized due to the Sino-Soviet split and their proxy rivals in the Third World. Because many Olympians in the United States are Blacks, the white boycott will force them to miss a lifetime opportunity and drive some of them to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and the like, even the Nation of Islam. The working class in China will ultimately benefit from China’s forced de-linking from Western capitalism to stand up again as masters of their own destiny. People of colors the world over, Unite!
I was so touched by the brave Golden Gate Bridge Three heroes today. I had to write an entire article in my blog. Please do check it out:
http://presidentialwatch2008.blogspot.com
Love the Golden Gate Bridge Three heroes. Free Tibet!!!
I am 14 and even i say free tibet before the olympics. Boycott the olympics for Tibet.
Coffee sippers who think it might be a good idea to free Tibet from China are about 58 years too late. China is not going to free Tibet, and Western encouragement of Tibetan resistance will only get people killed needlessly.
Tibet was part of China for centuries. In 1913, when China seemed to be falling apart, the British Empire encouraged Tibet to declare its independence. It did, and that lasted until 1950, when, at the end of the Chinese civil war, China invaded and reclaimed the area. By then, the impotent British Empire was in no position to help anyone even if it had been so inclined. America chose to do nothing.
If you are not willing to make your way to the Tibetan plateau and face Chinese guns and prisons, then you certainly should not sit around some coffee shop and urge Tibetans to do so. Tibet is a strategic area of China, and the Chinese government is not going to give it up or grant it independence or even autonomy. To paraphrase a famous outlaw, it is enough that we know that China will do what it has to do.
As for us, we should do nothing. Tibet is part of China, and what happens there is an internal affair of China. The rest of the world has no right to interfere, and other than bloviating for a while, I seriously doubt that it will. Unfortunately, in this age of global communications even bloviating can cause bad things to happen to people.
Boycotting the Olympics is a foolish idea by a tiny minority of fanatics. The Olympics have nothing to do with Tibet, just as they had nothing to do with the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. Boycotting the games would be a cruel blow to athletes who have been sweating and training for four years. It would accomplish nothing. It would further politicize the games, which should be encouraged to return to their amateur status.
China was awarded the Summer Games in a fair international competition and has spent a lot of money getting ready for them. Any attempt to spoil the games will do a great disservice to the athletes, the Chinese government and the Chinese people. It will do nothing positive and will only harden attitudes and end up making the world even more dangerous than it already is.
Americans in particular should keep in mind that we are currently engaged in mismanaging two occupations of two countries that we illegally invaded. Neither enterprise is going well. Neither is our economy. In short, we have enough on our own plate without trying to steal a bite off of China’s plate. We should make sure that Afghanistan and Iran are the last wheezes of the sick American Empire and shut it down and return to our republic.
I don’t know why some Americans seem to have trouble realizing that the days of the European empires are over. Part of the problem is that we have way too many vocational intellectuals and way too few real intellects. A vocational intellectual is someone who makes a living writing or talking. Such people tend to live inside their heads. Delusions of grandeur and fantasies about the real world are constant occupational hazards for such people.
No country in the world has to do what we tell it to do. Certainly that’s the case with the big powers like China, Russia, Japan and India. As you can see every day in your morning paper, even a little country like Iraq can cause us more trouble than it’s worth. It’s a crime against humanity that our sons and daughters are dying in the desert dust while fat politicians cavort about in Washington. Don’t encourage Tibetans to die in some futile fantasy about independence. They are not independent. They are part of China, and part of China they will stay.
I just want to add my name to a list of earth citizens who strongly object to the illegal occupation of Tibet, the destruction of their monastaries, and the continuing appression of the Tibet people….to be sent directly to the Chinese gov’t.
I’m a 15 year old Tibetan Buddhist (born in America, I converted to Buddhism) And I feel very strongly about what’s going on in Tibet. I hate how everyone’s living in exile. I had hoped to move there when I was old enough but now I realize how unfair it is that China is in there. I may be young but I know that China really doesn’t deserve the honnor of hosting the Olympics, because of their human rights violations. I want to free Tibet, but I know that there isn’t much I can do. I am however boycotting anything made in China so that it doesn’t suport their economy and I’m boycotting all sponsers of the 2008 olympics. I will fight for freedome. Free Tibet!
What can I say? The Beijing Olympics are here. As a Buddhist and a Briton, I am disgusted at the lack of attention the world’s media is giving to the plight of the Tibetan people. Over the past few months, I have been asking the people around me about the Olympics and whether or not they would participate in watching them. To my dismay (but without much surprise): most of them replied with a “yes” or a “why do you ask?” Bringing the subject of Tibet up, about 40% of them hadn’t the foggiest idea of what Tibet even was. Even more disturbing is the amount of medial SUPPORT that some television stations are giving to the Olympics. In my opinion: the media is the most powerful tool we can use to help the inhuman injustice being done on the people of Tibet. Though the possibility of civil unrest may arise, it is fundamental that we open the eyes op the public to the true nature of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
FT announces Free Tibet 2008 Television
Posted August 11, 2008 at 5:43 PM
Students for a Free Tibet has a new online video channel broadcasting from London throughout the worldwide uprising for Tibetan freedom during the Beijing Olympics: Free Tibet 2008 Television, or FT08.TV.
With all the Olympic actions for Tibet taking place and particularly the incredible success of the ‘opening’ banner action outside Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ stadium on Aug. 6th and subsequent media storm here in the UK, it took some time to get FT08.TV ready for prime time.
But with the dedicated help of lots of people, SFT’s new video channel is up and running, and filled with lots of must-see on-demand content, including inspiring Tibet activist video-profiles, action reports, video-blogs, and more.
We’re also airing a nightly Windhorse Report live from London with SFT leaders Tenzin Dorjee and Han Shan – a roundup of reports from Beijing and around the world during the Olympics, with breaking news about protests, call-in interviews with news-making activists, episodes of SFT-TV (the efforts of SFT’s global grassroots), and info and analysis about the situation on the ground in Tibet.
There will be more and more compelling content to watch every day and we’ll be improving the channel/website as we go (after all, this is but one small facet of our Olympic efforts right now). But please come check it out: surf around the many videos on the channel, or watch the stream (click on “Streaming Now” in the upper left-hand corner). Last but not least, you’re invited to submit video… check out the channel for more on what we’re looking for.
Please help spread the word about FT08.TV– join the facebook group, blog about it, embed the videos, spam your address book – and of course, keep watching.
And don’t forget to visit SFT’s Olympics Campaign website: http://www.FreeTibet2008.org and SFT’s blog: http://www.blog.studentsforafreetibet.org for more news and analysis from the frontlines of the current global effort to make Olympic history for Tibet.
Note: many thanks to Nathan Dorjee, Shannon Service, Andi Mignolo, Alex Fountain, Thupten Nyima, Kala Mendoza, and many others for helping to make FT08.TV happen at this critical time.
5:32 PM
Go on your facebook, etc to announce freetibet2008.tv/live. After go on “social justice” websites like “witness.org” (check it out) to announce ft08.tv. Also check out blogs discussing Tibet issue’s and post the official ft08 announcement.
Check out recent news articles on Tibet. Usually they have “comment” sections, post the ft08 annoucement.