2008 Woodie Awards
UA community voices opinion of Tibet-China conflict
Emile Phaneuf
Issue date: 3/31/08 Section: News
Protests continue around the world against human rights issues in China involving Tibet, and UA professors and students are also voicing their opinions.
In Tibet, protests began March 10, commemorating the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising of 1959. The exiled Tibetan government has reported the deaths of at least 140 protestors, while the Chinese government puts the death toll at 22, according to a March 25 article on CNN.com.
Whatever the number, the protests put human rights issues of the People's Republic of China in the spotlight.
The PRC has been preparing Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games - which begin August 8 - for several years.
Chinese authorities have cracked down on foreign journalists in the region and forced them to leave. When a German journalist was forced to leave Lhasa, he told BBC News that "he was the last foreign journalist in the city … and he had seen [the police] going into houses and carrying out searches," according to a March 20 article.
Phayul.com, a news Web site with special focus on the subject, showed photographs of soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army changing back into their uniforms after taking off robes that they use to pose as Tibetan monks.
The posing soldiers made "tactical moves to justify their violent crackdown by implicating Tibetans as rioters," according to the Web site.
But the protesting doesn't end with Tibet. Countries from around the globe have seen protestors outside government buildings, embassies and more. The lighting of the Olympic torch was interrupted in Greece last week as protestors ran into the camera spotlight holding a black flag that mimicked the Olympic five-ring logo, with each ring replaced by a handcuff, according to a March 24 BBC News article.
Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, issued a press release to the Chinese government Friday from Dharamsala, India, where the Tibetan government in exile is based.
In Tibet, protests began March 10, commemorating the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan uprising of 1959. The exiled Tibetan government has reported the deaths of at least 140 protestors, while the Chinese government puts the death toll at 22, according to a March 25 article on CNN.com.
Whatever the number, the protests put human rights issues of the People's Republic of China in the spotlight.
The PRC has been preparing Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games - which begin August 8 - for several years.
Chinese authorities have cracked down on foreign journalists in the region and forced them to leave. When a German journalist was forced to leave Lhasa, he told BBC News that "he was the last foreign journalist in the city … and he had seen [the police] going into houses and carrying out searches," according to a March 20 article.
Phayul.com, a news Web site with special focus on the subject, showed photographs of soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army changing back into their uniforms after taking off robes that they use to pose as Tibetan monks.
The posing soldiers made "tactical moves to justify their violent crackdown by implicating Tibetans as rioters," according to the Web site.
But the protesting doesn't end with Tibet. Countries from around the globe have seen protestors outside government buildings, embassies and more. The lighting of the Olympic torch was interrupted in Greece last week as protestors ran into the camera spotlight holding a black flag that mimicked the Olympic five-ring logo, with each ring replaced by a handcuff, according to a March 24 BBC News article.
Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, issued a press release to the Chinese government Friday from Dharamsala, India, where the Tibetan government in exile is based.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
andy_lwz@yahoo.com
posted 3/30/08 @ 9:12 PM CST
You were so misled. The riot ran for probably around 4-5 hours in the afternoon Mar. 14 GMT+08:00 until enforced security forces moved into the town to control, based on the only journalist stayed in Lhlsa and the eyewitness of tourists whose names have been reported. (Continued…)
Alwz
posted 3/30/08 @ 9:14 PM CST
You were so misled. The riot ran for probably around 4-5 hours in the afternoon Mar. 14 GMT+08:00 until enforced security forces moved into the town to control, based on the only journalist stayed in Lhlsa and the eyewitness of tourists whose names have been reported. (Continued…)
Tom Dino
posted 3/31/08 @ 12:13 AM CST
Waku up, people. Protests and demonstrations can solve problems at all. Let's do something real, people.
The U.S. should stand up for Tibetans and show the world that we are the true leader of freedom and democracy. (Continued…)
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