Beijing Wide Open

The British Olympic Association (BOA) is already trying to distance itself from a shameful plan to force UK athletes not to say anything critical of China during the upcoming summer Games.

This article in the Daily Mail on Sunday, “Britain kow tows to China as athletes forced to sign no criticism contracts”, reported that a “controversial clause has been inserted into athletes’ contracts for the first time and forbids them from making any political comment about countries staging the Olympic Games. It is contained in a 32-page document that will be presented to all those who reach the qualifying standard and are chosen for the team.”

The same article printed this terrible picture of the British Olympic Team giving the Nazi salute during the Berlin Games.

After an outcry from politicians and the media alike, BOA Chief Simon Clegg is now saying they may have gone too far and in fact they did not intend to “restrict athletes’ freedom of speech.”

Yeah, right.

I think the following comment from the International Herald Tribune online says it best:

“The muckety-mucks running Britain - and perhaps Belgium, which put their athletes on notice last month - appear so intent on cutting trade deals with China that they’ve effectively signed away their athletes’ free-speech rights.and said the wording of the contracts would be changed.”

Not surprisingly, Chinese officials have welcomed the move from their allies at the BOA.

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything but that doesn’t mean nothing’s been happening, in fact, it’s because so much HAS been happening. We just released this video in honour of International Human Rights Day and published the new site www.BeijingWeAreReady.com. This is our response to the Chinese government’s painful theme song for the Olympics Countdown “Beijing We Are Ready” which they released at the August 8th celebration in Tiananmen Square. Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

There are protests happening all around the world today. It sounds like things got quite tense at the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Australia. This morning in Switzerland, the IOC officially rejected Team Tibet’s application to compete in the Olympics. Al Jazeera covered the story of Team Tibet last month with this great piece:

“…whatever happens, what I see is a future of complete uncertainty in China and in such a situation Tibetans must never - it would be absolutely irresponsibly foolish to - give up the struggle for Tibetan independence. It is out of such conditions that Tibet has been independent.” - Jamyang Norbu

This is the third and final part of my interview with acclaimed Tibetan writer and activist Jamyang Norbu. He talks about an uncertain future in China and what it could mean for the Tibetan freedom struggle, Spielberg’s involvement in the Beijing Games and his belief that the Tibetan Government in Exile should be more active in leading the opposition to next year’s Olympics in China.

You can watch part 1 here and watch part 2 here.

I was happy to read the news that Taiwan stood up to China and refused to accept the proposed torch relay route.

“In rejecting the torch route, Taiwan officials said the Taiwan-Hong Kong contiguity made the island appear to be a part of China, despite their separate status. It said that it would only participate when China stopped “downgrad(ing) Taiwanese sovereignty.” - Olympic Torch Won’t Enter Taiwan, AP, September 21, 2007

Of course, Chinese officials are furious and are accusing Taipei of politicizing the Games. But their cries won’t distract anyone from the reality that they just lost a major battle and are weaker because of it. By running the torch through Taiwan and up Mount Everest, they hoped to firmly implant the idea of One China in people’s minds. Now Taiwan has completely undermined this plan.

China is still going to run the torch through Tibet next year. I wish we Tibetans were in a position to reject it too. I know that the situation in Taiwan is different from that in Tibet, but I can’t help but imagine what a strong message it would send if the Tibetan leadership would openly denounce China’s political use of the Games and call on the Chinese government not to run the torch through Tibetan soil.

“… we don’t fight for freedom on the premise that we are bound to win. We fight because there is an injustice. Winning and losing is secondary.” - Jamyang Norbu

Here is the second part of my interview with acclaimed Tibetan writer and activist Jamyang Norbu. It opens with Jamyang responding to the criticism of SFT’s recent protest actions in Tibet and China, which some say are irresponsible and actually harming the Tibetan people. He also addresses China’s environmental crisis.

You can watch part 1 here.

(And again, sorry for the feedback!)

Zhou Yongkang, the Minister of Public Security is quoted in the China Daily saying that “although the general security situation for the Beijing Olympics remains stable, we still face the challenges of terrorism, separatism and extremism.”

OK, so there are definitely a lot of people angry with the Chinese government. And some of them could be planning violent protests during the Games. But is this really who Zhou is talking about when he says that “some organisations and individuals had tried to politicise the Olympics and intervene in China’s international affairs, and some others were planning to disrupt the Olympic torch relay.”

A related AFP article suggests that he may be talking about us - Tibetans and Tibet activists, along with all others who want to use this moment to promote human rights and freedom for those living under Chinese oppression.

Are we a dangerous bunch? Sure we are. We are destroying Beijing’s attempt at one the biggest public relations whitewashes in the history of the world. We are undermining their ability to control their own Olympics messaging by exposing the ugly reality of their brutal and systematic violence against not just Tibetans but countless other people.

But, unlike the Chinese authorities, we are nonviolent. And any attempt to paint us as something else should be rejected and condemned by global citizens, the media and governments alike.

I tried something new today. Inspired by my interview with Amber Mac on WebNation, I interviewed Jamyang Norbu via skype. It worked ok besides the occasional feedback (sorry!) and this is the first of three parts.

Jamyang Norbu is an acclaimed Tibetan writer, thinker and activist. His novel, The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes, won the Crossword Book Award - India’s highest literary prize. He has lived many lives in the Tibetan exile community including a brief stint in the Tibetan resistance. He served as Director of the Tibetan Institute of the Performing Arts (TIPA) and a founding member of the Tibetan Youth Congress. Jamyang’s many articles and commentaries on Tibetan society and politics have informed, inspired and sometimes even enraged countless Tibetans. The boldness of his voice, the clarity of his opinions, and the elegance of his language has challenged a generation of Tibetans to open their minds, and encouraged more than a few to pick up the pen and be courageous in their writing.

Jamyang is also my cousin. I remember when I was around 16 years old and he came to Victoria, BC on a speaking tour with Lhasang Tsering - former member of the Tibetan resistance force in Mustang, Nepal; two-term President of the Tibetan Youth Congress; and another giant in the Tibetan freedom struggle. We stayed up late that evening listening to Jamyang and Lhasang talk passionately about the Tibetan political situation. At one point Jamyang was speaking in such an animated way that his plate of food ended up flying from his lap and onto the floor. Little did I know what an important role Jamyang would play in helping to inform and shape my political understanding and activism for Tibet.

We were speaking on the phone today about the timeliness and importance of letting people know about the Boycott campaign - http://www.boycottmadeinchina.org/ - when I asked him if he would do a short interview for BeijingWideOpen. I know many young Tibetans want to hear his thoughts and opinions more, and I think others who are new to the Tibet issue would benefit from hearing his views. Jamyang has an incredible ability to take a seemingly muddled topic or debate and make things clear and simple by always focusing on the fundamental human desire for dignity and justice. You can never be sure of what he might say next but one thing is always certain - when it comes to taking on detractors of the Tibetan fight for independence, his words can be like daggers.

*NOTE: The CNN report was taken off YouTube within a couple of hours of my post but you can still watch it here:
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/asia_pacific/the+price+of+demolition+in+qingdao+/645647

I just found this CNN report about forced evictions in China on a Tibetan friend’s Facebook page. The story is from Qingdao, southeast of Beijing, where homes are being demolished by developers backed by the local government. The scenes of hired thugs beating villagers as they try to protect their homes are shocking. I can barely stand to listen to the old woman crying in despair for her lost home: “How am I going to live? Where will I find the money?” It breaks my heart.

While reading articles about a new campaign intended to improve the behavior of Chinese police in the lead up to the 2008 Olympics, I stumbled across this article on a Chinese news website: Police Stations to Be Set up in Beijing’s Universities. Although the stated purpose of the police stations is to improve campus security, it seems more likely the Chinese authorities intend to monitor student activity to prevent any political unrest. The police presence is meant as much to deter students from political organizing as to ensure a quick response if there is any trouble, especially with the Olympic Games approaching. Any open expression of dissatisfaction with the government or calls for political reform from Chinese students would undermine Beijing’s attempt to look respectable and glorious in front of the world next August.

But I doubt there will be any resurgence of a student movement for rights and democracy in the next year. Most Chinese students seem to be looking forward to the Olympics with genuine excitement. Just this past weekend, Tendor and I met a young Chinese woman from Fujian province on the plane to Minneapolis. Her face lit up when we asked about the Olympics in China. She told us she would definitely be returning home next summer for the Games.

I often think about the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square and wish I had been old enough to really appreciate that moment and all of the possibilities it held. I was in Grade 7 when the protests happened and I watched the drama unfold on TV with my Dad. I remember the feeling of anticipation and excitement that filled our living room. It seemed like China was about to open up finally, and this meant the possibility of change in Tibet! Of course it didn’t happen. The movement was crushed and since then, only a few brave Chinese have dared to openly call for change. However, I can’t help but believe another moment will come soon. Maybe not during the Olympics, but soon. And while I know that the next generation of Chinese leaders won’t just hand Tibet back to our people, I also know that in change there is opportunity which Tibetans will seize to push for the restoration of our rights and freedom.

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 no way you can travel in China and ignore the pollution. I’m pretty sure it was the only touchy issue that Jacque Rogge, IOC President, addressed openly and it was one of the only news items that the censors didn’t black out on CNN and other broadcasts. (Read the BBC article).

Reading Choking on Growth (August 26th) by Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley in the New York Times is enough to make one feel really sad and scared for the future of China and the globe. Pollution in China is getting extra attention because of the Olympics and maybe that’s the only good thing that will come out of this. But one thing is certain: the current leadership in China is not capable of saving the air, the water and the environment because they pursue economic growth at all costs, since the nation’s growth rate is their only excuse to rule. That’s why for real change to come to China, the CCP rule must come to an end first.