Beijing Wide Open

One thing that was so clear at the one-year countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics was that nobody could ignore the pollution. It’s just that bad. Human rights abuses and corruption are hard for tourists to see and so easy for most - like the IOC - to pretend not to notice. But there is […]

When I was in Beijing I kept thinking about a friend back home in New York – Lhundup la. While standing in Tiananmen Square, I thought of him standing there too, as a young Tibetan man, in all his dignity and strength. I even used his name as one of my secret passwords while […]

A Chinese government agent came to our office today. We’ve had a couple of visits like this before. They usually work for a Chinese media outlet based in Beijing or are researchers/academics. They ask a lot of questions and don’t take any notes. They are mostly pretty friendly and have a […]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the impact of this blog and the banner on the Great Wall over the past few days. So much of the attention our actions in Beijing garnered was because of the technology we used to challenge the Chinese government. More than one story focused on the tools […]

I arrived in New York yesterday morning. My adventures in Beijing have come to an end, but people have convinced me that this blog should continue. I’m overwhelmed by the interest many have shown in hearing my thoughts about the upcoming Olympics. So I’m honored and happy to keep at it.

Above: Ai Wei Wei flips […]

I am on the plane and we’ve just started our descent. According to the captain we’ll be landing in 20 minutes.
I think there’s a guy following me on the plane. Or maybe I’m just totally paranoid now. But I’m pretty convinced…is this what happens after just one week in China as a […]

As you’ve seen here, the Chinese authorities finally detained Paul and me yesterday afternoon. I guess they couldn’t bear the idea of us running around Tiananmen Square during their one-year countdown bash. Well, what happened next confirms my suspicion that China has been feeling the heat in a big way. They reunited us with our […]

UPDATE 8/8 12pm Eastern: We’ve received a quick call from Lhadon saying that she, Paul, and the “Great Wall 6″ were being put on a plane to Hong Kong. We have no official word at this point. As this is Lhadon’s blog, we hope the next post up here will be from her, somewhere safe […]

My interview yesterday on Canadian television, who ran a good story on the Great Wall protest.

I am at a loss for words. This morning, 6 amazing people of conscience risked their lives to defend the Tibetan people.
Click here to watch the video.

At 9 am today Mel, Sam, Leslie, Pete, Nupur and Duane dropped a 450-square foot banner from the Great Wall of China. News of this action has already spread […]