Posts Tagged ‘tibet’

Protest against “Tibet -Treasure from the Roof of the World” exhibit

The exhibition, “Tibet: Treasure from the Roof of the World,” has been traveling throughout the world since 2004 and now it has been exhibiting in Japan. This exhibition does not present the accurate modern history and culture of Tibet. Our aim is to let the world know that this exhibition is a collection of stolen treasure that is organized by the Chinese govenment who has been trying to justify the Chinese rule in Tibet.

The activists wanted the exhibit to include information about the Chinese conquest and occupation of Tibet, but their request was rejected. Exhibition committee representative Taisuke Tsurumaki told activists that, “There is no such a thing as ‘Tibetan person.’ There is a Tibetan tribe (in China).”

[via FG]

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China deports Japanese ‘Free Tibet’ protester

It should come as no shock that a Japanese citizen who took part in a Pro-Tibetan protest in Beijing has been detained and deported:

A Japanese pro-Tibetan independence protester detained by Chinese authorities for demonstrating in Beijing was deported from China early Thursday, Japanese Embassy officials said.

Beijing’s Public Security Bureau notified the Japanese Embassy in the capital that Pema Yoko, a 25-year-old Londoner born to a Tibetan father and a Japanese mother, left here on a plane bound for a European destination, they said.

Seven American citizens were also detained and deported for participating in the protest. Chinese police also attacked and detained an ITN journalist who had been at the scene reporting. The international press has reported that the Chinese government has also been turning down all applications for demonstrations, despite previous claims that such activities would be allowed during the Olympics in several designated “protest zones” in Beijing.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo a crazy right winger was arrested for swinging around a sword in front of the U.S. Embassy. He also threw a message bottle “to send a protest to the US president” about America’s North Korea policy.

President Hu Jintao visits Japan, Pro-Tibetan rally held in Tokyo

The story as the Japan Times reported it:

A pro-Tibetan organization staged a rally and a street demonstration Tuesday in Tokyo — timed to coincide with Chinese President Hu Jintao’s arrival in Japan for a state visit — calling on the Chinese government to stop its oppression of Tibetans and to seek a peaceful resolution of Tibetan issues.

The Save Tibet Network, based in Tokyo, said the event in Shinjuku Ward drew about 1,300 people
“We gathered here to vent our soulful, angry and true call to Hu Jintao, to have China reverse its erroneous policy to rule Tibet for 50 years, and call on China to peacefully resolve Tibetan issues,” said former lawmaker Seishu Makino, chairman of the Save Tibet Network.

In the rally, the participants offered a minute of silent prayer for those who died in the Chinese crackdown on the unrest in Tibet in March and watched a short video on Tibetan history. It also included remarks by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetans.

Also among the participants were Chinese journalist Wang Jinzhong, who is seeking the democratization of China, and Karma Chopel, chairman of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile….

Many videos of the rally have been uploaded to YouTube.

Protests Hit Nagano Relay

The Japan leg of the Olympic torch relay is underway, and there are reports of minor disturbances:

• Not long after the 8:30AM start of the relay, a Japanese protester threw something at the torch runner. Police blocked it and arrested the man.
• Around 9:00AM, a protester dashed into the road and was tackled by the police.

Update: Here’s a slightly better video of the few disruptions that took place during the relay and some news links.

The man being carried away by police while screaming “free Tibet” was a Taiwanese citizen. The four other protesters arrested were Japanese. There were also incidents in which Chinese students were injured in attempted attacks on pro-Tibet protesters:

At least four people were injured in the scuffles in the mountain resort of Nagano, where more than 85,000 people packed the streets including Chinese students who turned the town into a sea of red national flags.

After relative calm elsewhere in Asia, the torch met at least hundreds of protesters here ranging from Buddhist monks and pro-Tibet demonstrators to nationalists, who provocatively waved Japan’s old imperial flag.

Protesters threw trash, an egg, a tomato and flares as the torch was paraded through the streets despite more than 3,000 police guarding the route, who had raised security to a level usually accorded to Emperor Akihito.

[...]

China is killing Tibetans, who are a very peaceful people, so I hate the Chinese government,” said Hisakazu Hattori, a 21-year-old student.

Another protester, Mitsuru Ishikawa, said he feared China’s rise.

“China wants to conquer the world. I’m afraid that China will conquer Japan in the near future,” Ishikawa said.

Furious Chinese supporters in turn surrounded demonstrators waving Tibetan flags. In one brawl the Chinese charged with flagpoles and were kicked by anti-Beijing demonstrators until police intervened, witnesses said.

At least four Chinese were injured, none of them seriously, said the fire department of Nagano, the site of the 1998 Winter Olympics some 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of Tokyo.

Mainstream international media coverage of the relay

• Protesters jeer Olympic torch in Japan (CNN-IBN)
• In pictures: Olympic torch in Japan (BBC)
• Torch supporters, protesters mark Japan relay (Reuters)

If NTV’s report is to be trusted, the Chinese media’s coverage of the Nagano relay was 100% positive. A heavily edited video of portions of the relay that did not have any Tibetan flags in the background was shown and there was absolutely no mention of protests.

Irene has kindly brought to our attention a YouTube video and 2-channel archives that give a firsthand account of the relay from the perspective of Japanese protesters:

It wasn’t the total chaos that some had predicted, but protesters seemed to have made a bigger impact in Japan than in the other countries the torch passed through in the last week. The torch travels to South Korea tomorrow, where North Korean defectors have vowed to interrupt the relay in protest of China’s repatriation of refugees to the North where they often face execution.

A Preview Of Tomorrow’s Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic torch has arrived in Japan, and a few protests have already taken place:

As torch-bearers rolled into Nagano, hundreds of Falun Gong supporters marched with a loud brass band through the city’s streets to condemn China’s leadership, which considers the spiritual movement an “evil cult.”

“Stop the mass murder by the Chinese Communist Party,” read a banner held by marchers in yellow Falun Gong T-shirts, who were closely watched by dozens of police.

Separately, at least two demonstrators unfurled Tibetan flags as the Chinese torch delegation stopped at a highway rest area on its way to Nagano, 180 kilometres (110 miles) north of Tokyo.

Japanese authorities have decided to ban the public from the start, midpoint and end of tomorrow’s relay, citing security concerns. About 3,000 policemen will provide security along the route and a group of about 100 police will run together with the torch bearers. Two Chinese paramilitary guards will accompany the torch as “attendants” and have agreed not to act as security.

Below are a some computer-generated examples of what the relay should look like:

CCTV, a state-controlled Chinese news outlet, reports that 10,000 Chinese will be in Nagano tomorrow to witness the relay. If such numbers are accurate, the torch runners shouldn’t expect much trouble, as the pro-Chinese crowds will likely block and intimidate protesters as their countrymen did in Australia.

Over 100 Japanese Police Officers To Run Alongside The Olympic Torch

When the Olympic torch leaves the starting point for Saturday’s relay in Nagano (pictured above), it will have a very large force of policemen protecting it:

Each torchbearer for the Japan leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay on Saturday will be encircled by five riot police force members donning sportswear and they in turn will be surrounded by around 100 uniform police officers who will form two columns on each side, police sources said Wednesday.

Under the plan envisaged by Nagano prefectural police, two Chinese administrators of the flame will also be running along the torchbearer in the event taking place in Nagano City. When the runners stop to pass along the flame, the five riot police officers will secure the area, the sources said.

The Japanese police are planning to reject a Chinese request to send security guard runners, the sources said.

What is the difference between Chinese “administrators” and “security guard” runners? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.