Tibet Support Group Global Directory
Activism: Campaigns and Urgent Actions
Legal and Historical Materials
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Free Tibet 2008 TV (SFT) - 2008 Review |
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December (2008.12) |
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| Kunleng - Tibet in 2008 ༢༠༠༨ནང་གི་བོད། 2008.12.26 ((ཀུན་གླེང་། Kunleng)) - Kunleng invites Bhuchung Tsering, vice president of ICT, and Serta Tsultrim, chief editor of Tibet Express, to look back year 2008 and discuss important events for Tibetans. VOA News |
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Hong Kong Supports "Charter '08" (零八宪章) Signers 2008.12.15 (NTDTV) - A number of organizations in Hong Kong went to the Chinese Communist Party's Liaison Office to protest the arrest of a Beijing scholar and others who signed onto a charter calling for political change in the Mainland. These activists are condemning the arrests of Chinese who signed onto Charter 08. The document calls for better human and civil rights in the Mainland. They also demanded an immediate release of Beijing scholar Liu Xiaobo who signed the charter.
Today's China is one of the most brutal countries in the world on suppression of freedom of speech. Currently, in China, 100 reporters, writers, and Internet writers have been sent to prison by authorities because of their writings. So China has the title of the world's largest Prison of Words. Their behavior has seriously violated the international human rights treaty and China's Constitution. It will let the world see the hypocrisy of the Chinese government, which seems to promote human rights, harmony, and the rule of law.
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Chinese Dissidents Arrested over Rights Charter (NTDTV) - Chinese dissidents published a document on the Internet Tuesday calling for the end of the one-party rule and extensive political reform in China. Known as Charter 08 (零八宪章), the document proposes changes in 19 areas, including a new constitution, an independent judicial system, and civil and political rights. The Charter was signed by over 300 Chinese citizens from all over the country, including intellectuals, government officials, lawyers, journalists, and artists. Chinese authorities have already begun to crack down, detaining several of them for questioning.
Charter 08 is based on Charter 77, a declaration by dissidents during Soviet-era Czechoslovakia. That charter called for the Soviet regime to honor the human rights obligations of the Helsinki Accords. After the fall of the Soviet Union, some of those who signed Charter 77 became leading public figures. One of them, Vaclav Havel, eventually became president of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. |
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Dalai Lama Meets French President 2008.12.09 (NTDTV) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy defied the Chinese Communist Party by meeting Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on Saturday. Mr. Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama has sparked Chinese calls for a boycott of French products. But President Sarkozy says hes not pushing for Tibetan independence. The French president says that the Dalai Lama's worries about Tibet are shared in Europe. The Dalai Lama has called for dialogue and compassion to solve the world's problems. [Dalai Lama, Tibetan Leader-In-Exile]: "So since the method warfare failed to solve our problem. So now this century should be century of dialogue. Every problem must be solved through talks, face to face. And with full understanding of others' interests, others' rights." The Dalai Lama also had a private meeting with the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He praised Polish courage in resisting past oppression against communist rule. |
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August (2008.08) |
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| Free Tibet Protests Rock Beijing 2008.08.13 (NTDTV) - Foreign pro-Tibet protesters staged a demonstration today near Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium. Here's a look at the scene. Some protesters unfurled a "Free Tibet" banner from an overhead bridge inside the Ethnic Culture Park. Ironically enough, the park was created to promote racial harmony. Other activists chanted "Free Tibet, human rights now" at the entrance to the park wearing "Free Tibet" T-shirts as police try to make them stop.
Police attempt to stop photographers from taking pictures while frowning local residents from looking on.
Despite security officers fanning out across the city, 300,000 surveillance cameras and tightened visa controls, a number of pro-Tibetan groups have managed to hold small-scale protests across the city since the start of the Games.
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Foreign press 'roughed up' at Beijing Tibet protest 2008.08.13 (Guardian) - ITN reporter John Ray detained and other journalists harangued while covering a small Free Tibet protest in the clearest breach yet of China's promise of free media access during the Olympics |
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Naomi Klein and Christian Parenti on How Beijing Olympics Highlight Globalization of Police State, Inequality 2008.08.11 - The equipment and integrated security systems used to detain Olympic protesters will remain long after the Olympics, to be used, many fear, on China's own population. And some of the biggest beneficiaries of this surveillance boom are US hedge funds and corporations, including Cisco, General Electric and Google. We speak to journalists Naomi Klein and Christian Parenti, both of whom have recently reported from China. naomiklein.org | Democracy Now! |
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| China security tech supplied by US companies
2008.08.11 - Naomi Klein on China and the Olympics |
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| Tibet protesters arrested in Beijing 2008.08.06 (Guardian) - Two Britons are among those detained after unfurling Free Tibet banners near the Olympic stadium |
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| American Foreign Policy Brought to You by China: Advisers to Obama, McCain Tied to US Multinationals that Profit from Beijing 2008.08.05 - Ken Silverstein: "Well, I know that when I first talked to Brookings, I contacted Bader through the Brookings Institute, which receives an enormous amount of money from John Thornton, who is a former CEO of Goldman Sachs and himself has a lot of direct financial stakes in China—he's the primary funder of the China program at Brookings, which is named after him, so that's another story. But I contacted Brookings, and I contacted the Obama campaign, and when I talked to Brookings, I mentioned—you know, I was told by someone at Brookings that "We prefer not to have the Stonebridge label disclosed." Now, they might say, "Well, it's because, you know, we're Brookings, and we want more credit for Brookings," but it seemed to me that it was quite clear that they preferred not to mention Stonebridge in talking about Bader". (more) |
 Democracy Now! | Harper's | Dr. Yang Jianli 杨建利 |
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| Amnesty International Stands With the Tibet Cause Candle Lights for Human Rights 2008.04.08 - SAN FRANCISO - Featuring Mona Cadena, Director of Amnesty International USA Amnesty International (AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in the UK in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international standards. It works to mobilize public opinion which exerts pressure on individuals who perpetrate abuses. The organization was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign against torture" and the UN Human Rights Prize in 1978. AI |
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| NangPa La Shooting - an eye witness account 2008-07-25 - According to an eye witness, a monk from Gyamda County, "75 of us came together from Lhasa in a truck, drove for two days and reached a place from where we walked for about 20 days, when we reached near the Nangpa La Pass, we started walking early morning, we begged food from mountaineers and were eating when the soldiers arrived, they started shooting and we ran, it was around 8 AM (China time), there were 15 small children aged 8-10, only one escaped and rest were arrested, I just ran to save my life by praying to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I think the soldiers fired for about 15 minutes, there were five soldiers, three were chasing us and two were holding those who were arrested, the soldiers were shouting, probably warning us but I did not hear them as I was terrified, I just heard gun shots passing my ears, I was so sad that many got arrested, I paid 4500 Yuan for guide, I don't exactly remember how many people were shot as we panicked, first 36 people escaped the gun shooting spree, and the rest came later, maybe they were hiding and came later, the Pass was about two hours and the snow on the Pass was knee deep, the nun was with us and she was shot and a boy from Kandze was shot on leg, we were the first group who were shot and there were people behind us who might be arrested, we don't know because we crossed the Pass and reached Nepali territory, I saw that western mountaineers took pictures, I am sure they would have pictures, there were two men and a woman. Phayul |
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| Tibet poet speaks out
With Beijing in the world spotlight for the Olympic games, China is leaving no stone unturned to ensure things run smoothly. Only days out from the opening of the games, one woman has dared to speak out about what she says is a worsening situation in Tibet. |
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| Tibetan Writer Woeser Sues Beijing |
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| McCain Meets Dalai Lama, Calls On China To Release Prisoners 2008-07-25 (AP) - "I urge the Chinese leaders to engage in talks and make progress with his Holiness' representatives in addressing the just grievances of the Tibetan people", Sen. John McCain I urge the Chinese government to:
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| Tibet Puts Human Rights in Spotlight
Human rights researcher, Phelim Kine, says Tibet violence shows China's human rights record is weak ahead of the Olympics. Human Rights Watch |
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| Robert Barnett on Tibetan-Chinese Relations 2008.05.30 (INN) - International News Net speaks with Dr. Robert Barnett of the Columbia University East Asia Institute about Tibetan-Chinese relations. Seven Questions: What Tibetans Want |
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April (2008.04) |
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| European Vice-President Voices Support for Tibet The protest continues over the crisis in Tibet. In London, Tibetans-in-exile and their supporters have been rallying and hunger striking in front of London's Chinese Embassy. One of the hunger strikers, Ngawang Sangdrol, is an exiled Tibetan nun. She says she was arrested when she was 13 years old for shouting 'free Tibet' in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. "In 1996 I shouted in prison 'Free Tibet' and 'Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama'. For this they increased my sentence to eight more years and put me in a solitary confinement cell for six months." Vice-President of the European Parliament Edward MacMillan Scott also spoke to reporters near the embassy. He called on the international community to put more pressure on China to improve human rights. "It's time for the world to wake up, for politicians everywhere to recognize the nature of the regime we have in Beijing, that all the promises made in 2001, when the Olympic Games were awarded to China are empty promises." The Chinese regime maintains death toll from the crackdown is 13 people. But Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign says the real number may be much higher. "This is absolute nonsense. We know in Lhasa alone 99 people are confirmed dead." The Tibetan government-in-exile said on Saturday that the death toll may be as high as 140 people in Tibet alone. |
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| Archbishop Desmond Tutu: On Tibet 2008.04 (LinkTV) - Archbishop Desmond Tutu joins World Affairs Council of Northern California CEO & President, Jane Wales, in a spirited conversation, recorded in April of 2008. He speaks candidly about his role as a cleric and an activist, including his most recent role as chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who contribute their wisdom, leadership and integrity to tackle some of the world's toughest problems. |
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| Boycott Lenovo,... Companies worry about brand damage 2008.04.26 Companies are starting to be enormously worried about brand damage. Clearly a lot of companies are trying to disassociate themselves from the whole event. I mean, the Olympics games are becoming almost a dirty word amongst the business community." Zenkoji temple, a key site when Nagano hosted the Olympics, pulled out as a relay starting point, citing followers' anger over China's crackdown in Tibet. The relay now will start in a parking lot, while runners for the most part will be out of spectator sight. Professor Hama says rather than the Games punctuating China's global arrival, events so far have been a PR nightmare. |
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March (2008.03) |
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| Thousands of Tibetans calling for freedom |
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| Monks disrupt media trip in Tibet 2008-03-27 (SKY News) - A government-managed visit by foreign reporters to Tibet's capital backfired Thursday when Buddhist monks disrupted the tour, screaming that there was no religious freedom and that the Dalai Lama was not to blame for Lhasa's recent violence. The government had arranged the trip for the reporters to show how calm Lhasa was after the deadly riots shattered the city.The outburst by a group of 30 monks came as the journalists were being shown around the Jokhang Temple, one of Tibet's holiest shrines. |
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| Tibet: China Strikes Back 2008.03.26 - China launched a propaganda war as the Olympic torch was kindled. Tibetans were shown beating up Han Chinese and looting shops, juxtaposed with picturesque features on Chinese guarantees of freedom for Buddhists. Chinese nationalism has been stoked, but the path of the Olympic torch is already rife with dissent. LinkTV |
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Monks disrupt China's media tour at Jokhang Temple (CNN) |
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Monks disrupt China's media tour (Reuters) |
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30 Monks disrupt media tour at Jokhang Temple, say it's all lies (CNN) - 30 monks broke into official briefing and said "don't believe them, they are tricking you, they [CCP] are telling lies. Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free! They want to crush the Dalai Lama. This is not right" (BBC) |
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| Tibetan Freedom Riders of Amdo, Tibet |
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| A Peaceful Solidarity March by Tibetans in Holkha Township 2008-03-25 (TCHRD) - Upon witnessing a massive protests across the Tibetan plateau since 10 March, Tibetan people from all walks of life in Holkha Township, Tsigorthang County (Xinghai Xian) Tsolho "TAP" Qinghai Province staged a peaceful solidarity march and later held a prayer session for those who lost their lives in the recent series of protests in Tibet on 25 March. Following the peace march and prayer session at the township government headquarters, three Tibetans were arbitrarily arrested in an early morning raid in their home by the People's Armed Police (PAP) and Public Security Bureau (PSB) officials, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). TCHRD: news | video |
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| 7th UN HRC Session remarks on Tibet 2008-03-25 (UN Watch) - Despite ongoing efforts by NGOs to raise important human rights issues before the UN Human Rights Council, abusive regimes including China, Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, and others continue to stonewall and silence criticism and those that seek to shine a spotlight on grave human rights abuse around the world. (more) |
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| ITN footage of Tibetan students protesting in Beijing 2008.03 - The journalist gets harassed as he tries to get footage of Tibetan students protesting the killings in Lhasa in Beijing by holding a silent sit-in, candlelight Vigil. CDT |
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| Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao News Conference 2008.03.18 - Chinese Premiere Wen Jiabao speaks to the press in the Great Hall of the People at the closing of the National People's Congress Annual Legislative Conference in Beijing. Most of the questions focus on the violence in Tibet. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao blames the Dalai Lama for the recent unrest and dismisses charges that China is committing "cultural genocide". Premier Wen also answers questions on Taiwan, reforming China's judicial system, and the Olympics. C-span | Real |
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Crisis in Tibet - Tenzin Dorje from SFT 2008.03.25 - NTD's Shelley Zhang talks to Deputy Director of Students for a free Tibet, Tenzin Dorjee. |
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| Taiwanese React to Tibet Crisis 2008.03.25 (NTDTV) - In the wake of the chaos in Tibet and protests in major cities around the world, Taiwan's leadership took a strong stand against China's crackdown. And despite disagreements over major campaign issues, over the weekend both candidates, as well as Taiwan's current President, spoke out against China's handling of the Tibet crisis. "Therefore we strongly condemn China's action", said Ma Yin Jeou, KMT Presidential Candidate. Frank Hsieh, DPP Presidential Candidate, said: "We are against China's suppression, and we express concern." Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's President said: "How dictating, how tyrannic!"
The Democractic Progressive Party candidate, Frank Hsieh, also made a connection between the current situation in Tibet and the future of Taiwan.
"But in the process we also see, once we open a gate for China, we may end up like
Tibet."
Taiwan is claimed by China as a 'renegade province,' but many, including Taiwan's current government, see Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Hsieh's comments also point to the upcoming elections, as the KMT party is seen as favoring closer relations with China. While Hsieh's DPP
party favors automony for Taiwan.
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| The 2008 Chinese "Genocide" Olympics in Beijing (TCC) - Keith Ware reveals his story of courage and compassion in promoting democracy and human rights in Communist China; and discusses the 2008 "Genocide" Olympics in Beijing, China, particularly the Human Rights Torch Relay which promoted human rights in China: http://www.humanrightstorch.org. Mr. Ware is a Falun Gong practitioner who is fighting for the rights of Falun Gong and other religions in China, where huge numbers of practitioners have been jailed, tortured, killed, and had their organs cut out on demand--Google: "organ harvesting"--and he and his wife were beaten and arrested in Tiananmen Square for merely holding up a sign promoting "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance". This show was taped shortly before the Communist massacre in Tibet against the Buddhist monks. |
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