Tiananmen “Tibet Die-in” Protest 080908 from Students for a Free Tibet on Vimeo.
Please watch this video. Five free Tibet activists staged a dramatic die-in today in Tiananmen Square, in the shadow of Chairman Mao’s famous portrait. Tiananmen Square was, of course, made infamous in 1989 when the Chinese government unleashed a massacre against pro-democracy demonstrators. I’m proud that these five protesters brought a message of Tibetan freedom to this important place in Chinese history. Just as China wants to use the Olympics to make the world forget June 4, 1989, it too wants the world to forget about its ongoing crackdown in Tibet. Today’s protest will help ensure that Tibet’s voice is not silenced.
The five protesters were Chris Schwartz, 24, of Montreal, Canada; Diane Gatterdam, 55, Evan Silverman, 31, and Joan Roney, 39, all from New York; and David Demes, 21, of Germany.
I hope these activists’ protest will inspire others around the world to speak out against China’s occupation of Tibet. I hope the action team is safe and doing well. Your actions prove yet again that we will not be silenced.
This protest is peacful but again only targeting North America and European market, barely have any impact on the most important andience, the Chinese. Send some protests next time who speak Mandarin.
I bet if they dare to use Chinese in their banner all they get is blows in their face. What a bunch of cowards!
If those people outside of Tibet who really want to help, protest does nothing except for provoking Chinese government and Chinese people (you think you will threat or persuade Chinese people to let go Tibet? only in your dream). Do something real, help to build a school, help an orphan, save your money and help them to build a better home. Otherwise, all you are doing is not helping but bullshitting…
One world, one dream. Free Tibet, only in your dream.
Gee!!! This is your so-called freedom! I have a comment that is different from your opinion and you refuse to publish it (moderation??? approval???). What are you doing here??? What kind of freedom you are seeking?
Chennie, learn some patience. Moderators do not work 24/7 to approve comments; they have much better things to be doing most of the time.
Patience is something you need to understand this struggle. Independence is not something obtained overnight, not something handed to you on a silver platter. It requires years, generations, sometimes centuries of struggle and determination. But in the end, Tibetan independence will come. And every step of fighting along the way is necessary for that, so that when the time comes when China is weak and vulnerable, people will be ready to take what is theirs.
As for the language of these banners, it’s a matter of the goal of the action. The goal is not to start riots in Beijing but to deny China the legitimacy it desperately seeks from the rest of the world and turn China’s public relations parade into a public relations nightmare. Before you tell us to write our messages in Chinese and target Chinese people, I hope you’re ready to present a detailed strategic plan of how to use such actions (ones targetted at Chinese people) to end the occupation of Tibet.
It comes down to the simple fact that people who do not agree with our goals are not qualified (nor trustworthy) to tell us what methods to use to reach those goals. I couldn’t care less about nonsense like “promoting friendship” or “mutual understanding” or “national harmony” or whatever words are popular in China now. Chinese must understand that China is shameful and unwelcome both in Tibet and around the world as long as the occupation of Tibet continues. Once that’s over, we can begin talking about friendship.
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