Banned in Tibet: SFT’s 2008 Olympics Newsletter

We’re excited to announce that the newest edition of Students for a Free Tibet’s newsletter, Banned in Tibet, is now available online! You can preview it below and then download the high-res PDF file or the high-res JPEG photos of each page for viewing or printing!

From the global protests during China’s international torch relay to the Uprising in Tibet to the Beijing Olympic Games, it was a groundbreaking year for SFT and this jam-packed edition of the newsletter covers it all and more…

Features include:

* SFT Declares Olympics Victory: 8 High-Profile Actions in Beijing
* March 2008 Uprising in Tibet
* Historic Return March to Tibet
* How We Did It: Testimonials from the Activists
* SFT Spotlight Film: Leaving Fear Behind
* 50 Years of Resistance: 1959-2009

Spread the word to your friends, family, co-workers, and anyone else interested in reading more about SFT’s creative work for Tibetan freedom over the past year. In addition to the digital edition of Banned in Tibet, we also have print copies available. To order copies of the newsletter, please contact chand@studentsforafreetibet.org.

Banned in Tibet is more than just an overview of Students for a Free Tibet’s activities — it’s a voice for the Tibetan people and a call for freedom from China’s brutal occupation of Tibet.

We hope that looking back on the Olympics campaign will inspire you to continue taking action for Tibet in the lead-up to the 50th Commemoration of the 1959 Tibetan National Uprising. At this critical time, help us ensure that 2009 is another historic year for Tibet.

They Write Letters

Adam Zenko, who was detained near Tiananmen Square on August 10th following an SFT action that included the unfurling of a Tibetan flag by a Tibetan woman, writes to the editors of the New York Times in response to one of Nick Kristof’s ridiculous columns.

To the Editor:

Re “Malcontents Need Not Apply,” by Nicholas D. Kristof (column, Aug. 17):

Imagine my surprise to learn from Mr. Kristof that China is “no longer a totalitarian state.”

If he could somehow share this with the many thousands of Tibetan political prisoners, they would be gladdened to hear it.

Also, please pass the word to the undercover policemen who punched and kicked me on Aug. 10 while I stood near Tiananmen Square holding a banner reading “Tibetans Are Dying for Freedom.” Adam Zenko

San Francisco, Aug. 20, 2008

The writer is a member of Students for a Free Tibet.

Great work Adam.

CitizenReporter.org Podcast on Brian Conley & Beijing6

Bicycle Mark posts:

The following podcast features an interview with Brian’s wife, Eowyn, who explains what she knows about Brian’s situation, the group, and people who have risked their freedom and well-being in protest of the Chinese government and their disregard for basic human rights. More information can be found here. Please listen to the program and do pass on the link, otherwise all we have is the image of the mainstream press… the picture perfect images of the olympic games and China on television.

download and listen to the mp3 podcast here

view the original blog post here

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Beijing6: Statement from Eowyn Rieke, Wife of Brian Conley

Dan Patterson is a personal friend of detained blogger Brian Conley, and has posted an amazing statement from Brian’s wife, Eowyn on his blog:

My husband, Brian Conley, has dedicated his life to helping oppressed people communicate their struggles to the world. Since 2004 he has worked on the video blog Alive in Baghdad (www.AliveinBaghdad.org), which produces and distributes weekly video segments about daily life in Iraq and the impact of the war.

Brian went to China to document pro-Tibet protests taking place concurrent with the Olympics. He was not particpating in political actions, only documenting them as any journalist would. On August 19, 2008, he was arrested by Chinese authorities for this work, along with 5 others working with Students for a Free Tibet. Under China’s repressive government it is illegal to record expressions of free speech  and work as a journalist without state supervision.

…

She continues pointing out the amazing truth about Brian - he would absolutely hate all of this attention on him. In fact, he is more of the type to teach others how to blog and make video, then to actually promote his own work

Brian would be uncomfortable with the attention being paid to his situation. He would want us to focus on the people around the world who are truly struggling – as a result of war, global economics, racism, imperialism and other injustices.

Read the full post here: http://danpatterson.creepysleepy.com/statement-from-wife-of-alive-in-baghdad-producer-detained-in-bejing/

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Forced Labor for 2 Elderly Chinese Protest Petitioners

No one could have predicted that Chinese petitioners asking to protest in “protest zones” during the Olympics would be punished for their views of dissent…right?

The New York Times reports on what we all feared would happen as a result of Beijing’s Olympic-related P.R. stunt:

Two elderly Chinese women have been sentenced to a year of “re-education through labor” after they repeatedly sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas, according to family members and human rights advocates.

The women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Xiuying, 77, had made five visits to the police this month in an effort to get permission to protest what they contended was inadequate compensation for the demolition of their homes in Beijing.

During their final visit on Monday, public security officials informed them that they had been given administrative sentences for “disturbing the public order,” according to Li Xuehui, Ms. Wu’s son.

Mr. Li said his mother and Ms. Wang, who used to be neighbors before their homes were demolished to make way for a redevelopment project, were allowed to return home but were told they could be sent to a detention center at any moment. “Can you imagine two old ladies in their 70s being re-educated through labor?” he asked. He said Ms. Wang was nearly blind.

I’m sure Professional Asshat & China Apologist Nick Kristof thinks this is a sign of tremendous progress and liberalism by the Chinese government.

I’m sure that Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, and Giselle Davies, the IOC’s media stonewaller and question-dodger spokeswoman, think that this is not an event that merits comment from the sporting overlords who keep the impenetrably noble Olympic flame safe as a symbol of peace and global unity.

I’m sure that everyone who has ever looked at the creation of “protest zones” and praised the new direction the Chinese government is heading in because of the Olympics will not look back at what they’ve said or written and amend their statements in light of this Olympic crime. They will not admit their errors and they will not let reality revise their views on China.

In the name of all that any people around the world think is just and right, this is a crime. These two elderly women are being sent to a forced labor camp for asking for permission to protest. Not for calling for the overthrow of the Chinese government. Not for even protesting without permit. For taking the Beijing authorities at their word and saying, “We would like a permit to publicly ask for adequate compensation for the government destroying our homes to make way for the Olympic Games.”

This is sickening. This is what tyranny looks like. And it’s happening with the entire world watching, with tens of thousands of journalists, foreign dignitaries, and celebrities blocks away. Yet no one is standing up to stop it.

In my view, Jacques Rogge and the directors of the International Olympic Committee are just as culpable as the insecure tyrants who run the Chinese government for what has happened to Wu Dianyuan and Wang Xiuying. I hope Dianyuan and Xiuying are strong women and come out of one year of forced labor ready to continue fighting for their rights. But if tragedy occurs, and these two elderly women do not, then their blood is on the hands of Rogge and the IOC.

China Blocks iTunes for Tibet Album?

This is a screenshot of iTunes accessed from inside China:

As you can see, you can’t get onto iTunes from within China. The problem was identified in this thread on the Apple Support forum and it didn’t take long for iTunes inside China to put things together. User merrillks writes:

I live in Western China and use an american account and have the same problem. My guess is that China has blocked iTunes. How they do this I don’t know, but it’s the same way that they can block Youtube. My guess is that they probably blocked it due to the “Songs for Tibet” CD that came out on iTunes two days before the olympics. I think part of the money goes to Tibet and since they have very strong views on Tibet I’m sure that played a part in them shutting down iTunes.

User Sinoman adds:

In my 12-year China experience, I’ve seen a plethora of all sorts of “blockages” from the Chinese government, and if that’s what this is, it’s likely a “content” issue. I wasn’t aware of the aforementioned selection supporting Tibet, but that’s exactly the kind of thing that would spur a blockage of the site, since they can’t very well block a single song.

Another user points out that the same day iTunes was shut down, there were media reports that 40 Olympic athletes have downloaded “Songs for Tibet,” a musical compilation benefiting Tibetan independence, from inside Beijing. The album had been made available for free for Olympic athletes to download from iTunes. “Songs for Tibet” opened #4 on the Billboard charts and has been a huge hit on iTunes and other online sales sites worldwide.

A report on china.org.cn, which is the authorized government portal site to China, managed by the Information Office of the State Council, was critical of the iTunes download and spoke to angry Chinese netizen response:

According to Chinanews.com, the angry netizens are rallying together to denounce Apple in offering “Songs for Tibet” for purchase. They have also expressed a wish to ban the album’s singers and producers, most notably Sting, John Mayer and Dave Matthews, from entering China.

Many people have made remarks on online forums to express their anger, even those who have been fans of the artists in the past.

So it seems the table was set for an action on iTunes. Has it happened? It’s unclear but even bloggers who aren’t pro-Tibet think so and are outraged by it.

We don’t know for certain that iTunes has been banned because of “Songs for Tibet” or the popularity for this album amongst Olympic athletes. Both Apple and the Chinese government are silent so far. But it seems like a real possibility that China has shut down access to iTunes merely because it was selling an album supportive of the Tibetan people and their struggle for independence. Obviously if that turns out to be the case, it will be just another instance where the Chinese authorities show their true colors during the Olympics. They have not opened up. They have not become more progressive. They have not changed as a result of the Games. Rather, they’re the same repressive government that has only taken their illiberal tactics to new, more brazen levels with the whole world watching.

Nick Kristof’s Arrogant Idiocy

Regular readers of Tibet Will Be Free know that New York Times columnist Nick Kristof has a long history of wankery when it comes to his writing on Tibet and China. Kristof is a Sinophile through and through — he spends a significant amount of time in China every year — but lately Kristof has declared himself the Self-Appointed Negotiator and Moderator of the solution to the Tibet question. I don’t know why he’s decided to do this, I suppose to appear Serious and Reasonable, but I try to avoid divining the intentions of opinion columnists when they find themselves on thought experiments on serious matters.

Anyway, Kristof’s column this weekend related to China, but avoided the subject of Tibet. Instead Kristof tells the world about his Daring Adventure applying for a permit to protest in a “protest zone” inside Beijing (but nowhere near Olympic venues). Not shockingly, Kristof fails, but in so doing he displays some of the highest order arrogance I have ever seen a columnist display in print on any subject ever. Kristof glosses over the fact that at least six petitioners have been arrested or disappeared, going so far as to praise the Chinese security forces for duping people (with an assist from the I.O.C.) into admitting they are people the PRC would want to silence. Kristof fails to mention that foreigners weren’t allowed to protest in the first place as he engages in his worthless experiment. Worst of all, he takes the fact that no petitions are being approved, a fact that speaks only to the Chinese authorities new-found public relations savvy, and states that all of this shows that China is magically going in the right direction.

Kristof invites his readers to comment on his column and last night I took the opportunity. Here’s what I wrote in response:

NY Times on NYC Projection Action

Jim Dwyer of the New York Times has a fantastic article about the New York City digital projection action on the Chinese Consulate. Dwyer covers how the action was done, what made it effective, and the ensuing battle with the IOC and YouTube to keep video of the action online.

The pictures were four and five flickering stories high. And for about 25 minutes on the night before the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Games, that video, produced by Students for a Free Tibet, looped against the wall of the consulate. The modern Olympics have always been a theater for sport, commerce and politics, tightly controlled by the International Olympic Committee and the host country. This year, there are stages everywhere….

For pure spectacle, it was hard to top the anti-Chinese video that was streamed onto the consulate wall. Giant projections have been used in other protests — in Los Angeles, for instance, critics of the Catholic hierarchy’s handling of sex-abuse allegations streamed pictures onto the cardinal’s residence. The tactic is a linear descendant of the rock and slingshot, with images catapulted into stinging view by a 5,000-lumen projector.

The article goes on to show how SFT pushed back on the removal of the YouTube video of the protest and how we were able to get the video back online.

A few hours later, Mr. Gulotta said, a friend sent him an e-mail message asking if he had taken down the video. He went to YouTube and saw that it had been removed by a “third party” — the International Olympic Committee — on the grounds that the use of the Olympic rings was a copyright infringement.

Mr. Gulotta struck back, filing an appeal to YouTube, arguing that the brief appearance of the rings amounted to “fair use” under copyright standards.

“The I.O.C. was safeguarding China’s image,” Mr. Gulotta said.

Representatives for the Olympic committee did not respond to a request for comment on Friday, but they had previously said that their request to YouTube was made automatically by a software robot that searches for unauthorized uses of the Olympic logo. (Normally, the use of the rings is limited to commercial sponsors who have paid for the right.)

In any event, the video was restored to YouTube this week. “That part of the operation got more attention than the action itself,” Ms. Nirankari said.

So far, no one has tried to prohibit such projections. Ingenious as the tactic is, it does involve hijacking someone’s property, if fleetingly. Mr. Gulotta agreed that the projections had to be used “responsibly,” but he said the Chinese government had it coming. “If any individual had done anything to the level of what the Chinese government has done in Tibet,” he said, “they would actually be inviting this onto themselves.”

This is great coverage and the sort of article that really shows how creative and innovative SFT has become in an effort to bring global attention to China’s brutal, illegal occupation of Tibet while the Olympics are going on. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention and you can be sure that SFT will keep finding new ways to bring Tibet into the international spotlight until Tibet is free.

Olympic Cyclist Cadel Evans Speaks Out on Tibet

Australian cyclist Cadel Evans has flown out of the Beijing Olympics today after voicing his opinion on the situation in Tibet. Evans, who finished fifth in the men’s road cycling individual time trial yesterday is an outspoken supporter of a free Tibet.

The Tour de France runner-up has been widely shown wearing “Free Tibet” slogans on his racing gear and has a link on his website to another site where people can buy pro-Tibet merchandise.
He complied with International Olympic Committee protocols during the Games to leave political protest out of the Olympics, keeping his views on Tibet quiet until he flew out today.

“It’s a sad situation and I think similar to what happened with the Australian Aborigines,” Evans told the Seven Network.

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