A Tibet supporter’s analysis of Google’s China stand

Josh Schrei, former SFT board chair and lifelong Tibet support posted a must-read analysis piece on Google’s decision to stand up to China in Huffington Post: The War Over Words: Why Google’s New Approach to China Should Be the Only Approach

He lays out the broader implications of Google’s move to take the power back in its relationship with China and encourages other western corporations and political leaders to do the same.

While I applaud Google for their brave decision, their “discomfort” around having to censor should have been taken more seriously the first time around, because there are very few good places such a decision can lead. Once you go down that road, it will inevitably lead to places of greater ambiguity, greater ethical dilemma, and greater concern. Luckily, free thinking minds prevailed, before the unthinkable ( for example, the company NOT disclosing China’s shenanigans in favor of keeping the relationship strong) happened. Over the next few weeks I encourage the Google-folk to maintain the firm stance they did yesterday. Bending on these issues is not an option. Too much is at stake.

Hopefully Google’s actions will start to show some US companies — and our good President, for that matter — that they do have influence with the Chinese, they do have power in that relationship…. and that we can make change by living according to principle. Moving forward, other companies MUST follow Google’s lead. Restrictions should be put in place on selling the Chinese government technology, software, or hardware that enables surveillance and digital privacy invasion. And when Beijing plays foul, in any circumstance, companies have a responsibility to call them out on it, as Google has done.

Read the full article.

East Turkestan – an issue of nationhood for the Uyghurs

Most of the news coverage of the events in Urumchi over the past week reduced the unrest down to an issue of “ethnic tension” or “ethnic rioting,” completely glossing over the issue of occupation. China’s occupation of East Turkestan (what China calls Xinjiang), the Uyghur homeland, is at the root of the violent events that have transpired. No one is denying that the ensuing violence manifested itself along ethnic lines, but ultimately this is not a battle between “Han” Chinese and Uygur “Muslims;”  it is a battle of survival for the Uyghur people against China’s systematic efforts to suppress the Uyghur nation and colonize the Ugyhur homeland.

Below are a few of the analysis pieces that are starting to address this issue:

Al Jazeera’s Steve Chao discusses how China’s “Go West” policy of Chinese resettlement has fueled the unrest:

The Guardian’s John Gittings talks about Uyghur separatism:

Until now, it has been Beijing that talked up the threat of ethnic separatism in its far north-west region of Xinjiang, while the attitude of most of the Muslim Uighur population has been one of quiet – though unhappy – acceptance of Chinese rule. But the latest outbreak of violence in the regional capital of Urumqi suggests that Uighur resentment at heavy-handed Chinese policies has begun to boil over. For Uighurs to challenge the authorities in what has become a largely Chinese city is even more remarkable.

Xinjiang has a history of only intermittent control from Beijing and the misfortune of being seen by the Chinese as a strategic buffer region against its neighbors. There were two short-lived independent “East Turkestan” republics in the 1930s and 1940s – the second under strong Soviet influence. After the 1949 Chinese communist victory, Beijing quickly moved thousands of soldiers to set up paramilitary state farms: Xinjiang became a favored location for penal centers, and later on for Red Guards who were “sent down to the countryside”. After subsequent waves of migration, Han Chinese now make up 40% of the population, not much less than the 47% of Uighurs.

Violent crackdown on Uyghurs expected in East Turkestan

As in Tibet, Chinese governments vows massive military crackdown on Uyhurs in East Turkestan:

China’s leaders vow to punish Xinjiang rioters (AFP)

“The planners of the incident, the organisers, key members and the serious violent criminals must be severely punished,” President Hu Jintao and the other eight members of the ruling Communist Party’s elite Politburo said.

Chinese leaders Vow Xinjiang Action (BBC)

China’s top leadership has vowed to administer “severe punishment” to those involved in the deadly rioting in Xinjiang

Beijing professor held for Urumqi blog (AFP)

“The crackdown is not limited to Xinjiang,” the media rights group said in a statement. “The authorities have arrested an independent writer who was just posting reports on his blog.”

Martial law in Xinjiang

Al Jazeera update: Urumchi flooded with troops – there is no indication things will return to normal anytime soon.

China tries…(and fails) at new openness with foreign media

BEIJING (AP) — When riots broke out in the restive west this week, China took a different tack with foreign journalists: Instead of being barred, reporters were invited on an official tour of Xinjiang’s capital.

The approach, a stark reversal from last year’s handling of Tibetan unrest, suggests Chinese authorities have learned that providing access to information means they can get their own message out, experts said.

Read full article

Message of solidarity with the Uygurs of East Turkestan

International Tibet Support Network
8 July 2009:

The 168 member organisations of the International Tibet Support Network (note 1) express their deep concern over the tragic events that are unfolding in East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang) .  We call on the government of China to release those who have been detained for peaceful protest, restore internet and mobile telephone communication to Urumqi, permit unfettered access to journalists, cease its propaganda campaign that is contributing to the violence, and allow the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation. ITSN members send a message of solidarity to Rebiya Kadeer and to members of the World Uyghur Congress at this tragic time.

As with the protests that erupted in Tibet in 2008, China is following the same approach it used to “manage” the situation there including:
- tightly controlling foreign media (some of whom are in Urumqi on a government-organised tour).
- shutting down internet and mobile telephone access to prevent information getting out of the region and control what its own citizens are told about events.
- conducting night-time raids which have led to the arrests of many hundreds of people.
- flooding news broadcasts with images and statements that present protestors solely as violent rioters, thereby inciting ethnic conflict (see note 2).
- without proof, blaming the expression of legitimate grievances on “hostile foreign forces” (in East Turkestan’s case, Rebiya Kadeer and the World Uyghur Congress; in Tibet’s case, the Dalai Lama and his followers).

Sixteen months after a wave of overwhelmingly peaceful protests began to sweep across the Tibetan plateau, Tibet remains under virtual martial law, with more than 1,000 people still unaccounted for, who were detained during the period of unrest. More than 200 Tibetans have been killed during the protests and hundreds more arrested and sentenced, including four men and one woman sentenced to death (three with a 2 year reprieve) for taking part in the unrest in Lhasa on 14 March 2008. The executions of Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak could take place any day.

Despite China’s occupation of Tibet and East Turkestan for over half a century, Tibetans and Uygurs have never accepted Chinese rule and continue to advocate for basic freedom and human rights. By denying Tibetans and Uyghurs control over their own lives, the Chinese government’s policies in Tibet and East Turkestan are destroying stability, not creating it.

Members of the International Tibet Support Network fear that, as in Tibet, the Chinese authorities will escalate their crackdown in East Turkestan with lengthy prison sentences, disappearances and beatings. As with Tibet, we call on the international community to press the government of China to work sincerely for a peaceful resolution to the 60-year long occupation of East Turkestan. We echo Rebiya Kadeer’s urgent call for peace, justice and the end of all violence and appeal to the Chinese government to end its brutal suppression of Uyghurs throughout East Turkestan.

Note 1:    The International Tibet Support Network is a global coalition of 168 Tibet related non-governmental organisations, which works to maximize the effectiveness of the worldwide Tibet movement. ITSN Member organisations hold varied positions on Tibet’s future political status, but all regard Tibet as an occupied country and are dedicated to ending human rights violations in Tibet, and to working actively to restore the Tibetan people’s right under international law to determine their own political, economic, social, religious, and cultural status.

Note 2:    A report published by the Gongmeng Institute in Beijing recently pointed out how the Chinese government’s virulent propaganda campaign over the Tibetan protests on 14 March 2008 stoked divisions between Chinese and Tibetans. The report said: “The ensuing over-propagandizing of “violence” was used to make the 3.14 incident ever larger, which created certain oppositional ethnic sentiments… Such propaganda actions are in the long run detrimental to ethnic unity. The fascination that Han citizens have expressed toward Tibetan culture changed to fear and hatred of the Tibetan masses.” See http://tibetnetwork.org/chinesevoice

ITSN’s member organisations are listed below:

North America:

Association Cognizance Tibet, North Carolina
Bay Area Friends of Tibet
Boston Tibet Network
Canada Tibet Committee
China Tibet Initiative
Colorado Friends of Tibet
Committee of 100 for Tibet
Dhokam Chushi Gangdruk
International Campaign for Tibet
International Tibet Independence Movement
Los Angeles Friends of Tibet
Monadnock Friends of Tibet
Northwest Tibetan Cultural Association
Rangzen Alliance
San Diego Friends of Tibet
Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
Seattle Friends of Tibet
Sierra Friends of Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet – Canada
The Tibetan Alliance of Chicago
The World Tibet Day Foundation
Tibet Committee of Fairbanks
Tibet Justice Center
Tibetan Association of Ithaca
Tibetan Association of Santa Fe
Tibetan Association of South California
Tibetan Cultural Association – Quebec
TIBETmichigan
Toronto Tibet Youth Congress
U.S. Tibet Committee
Western Colorado Friends of Tibet

Central & South America:

Amigos del Tibet – Guatemala
Amigos del Tibet, El Salvador
Asociacion Cultural Peruano Tibetana
Asociacion Cultural Tibetano – Costaricense
Casa Tibet Mexico
Grupo De Apoyo a Tibet Chile
Grupo Pro-Cultura Tibetana, Chile
IPPSEA
Le Club Francais
Pensando En Tibet – Mexico
Tibet Group-Panama
Tíbet Patria Libre, Uruguay

Asia:

Bharrat Tibbat Sahyog Manch, India
Circle of Friends (Philippines)
Core Group for Tibetan Cause, India
Foundation for Universal Responsibility of H. H. the Dalai Lama
Friedrich-Naumann Foundation
Friends of Tibet and Tibetans
Gannasamannay
Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet
Himalayan Committee for Action on Tibet
India Tibet Friendship Society
Mahatma Gandhi Tibet Freedom Movement
National Campaign for Tibetan Support, India
National Democratic Party of Tibet
Raise Tibetan Flag Campaign
Roof of the World Foundation, Indonesia
SFT-India
Taiwan Friends of Tibet
Taiwan Tibet Exchange Foundation
The Youth Liberation Front of Tibet, Mongolia and Turkestan
Tibet Lives, India
Tibet Solidarity Forum, Bangladesh
Tibet Support Group Kiku, Japan
Tibet Support Network Japan
Tibetan Parliamentary and Policy Research Centre
Tibetan Women’s Association (Central)
Tibetan Youth Congress

Australasia:

Australia Tibet Council
Friends of Tibet New Zealand
Students for a Free Tibet New Zealand
Tibetan Community of Australia (Victoria)
Tibet Action Group of Western Australia

Africa & the Middle East:

Friends of Tibet – Isamailia (Egypt)
Israeli Friends of the Tibetan People
South African Friends of Tibet
Tibet Support Group Kenya

Western Europe:

Aide aux Refugies Tibetains
Amici del Tibet-Friends of Tibet Italy
Association Dorje
Association Drôme Ardèche-Tibet
Association of Tibetans in Germany
Association Rangzen
Association Rencontres Tibetaines – C.S.P.T. Midi-Pyrenees
Associazione Italia-Tibet
Austrian Committee for Tibet
Briancon05 Urgence Tibet
Caisse d’Aide aux Prisonniers Tibetains
Casa del Tibet – Spain
Comite de Apoyo al Tibet (Madrid)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain – Bretagne
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Les Lilas)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain (Switzerland)
Comite de Soutien au Peuple Tibetain de l’Herault
Eco-Tibet France
EcoTibet Ireland
France-Tibet
Free Tibet Campaign
Games of Beijing, Switzerland
Gesellschaft Schweizerrich-Tibetische Freundschaft
Groupe Non-Violent Louis Lecoin, France
Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete, Portugal
International Campaign for Tibet Deutschland
International Campaign for Tibet Europe
International Society of Human Rights, Munich Chapter
ISCOS-CISL
Jamtse Thundel Association
La Porte du Tibet, Geneva
Les Amis du Tibet – Belgium
Les Amis du Tibet Luxembourg
Lions Des Neiges
Lions Des Neiges Mont Blance, France
Maison des Himalayas
Maison du Tibet – Tibet Info
Nos Amis de l’Himalaya
Objectif Tibet
Passeport Tibetain
Reseau International des Femmes pour le Tibet
Save Tibet, Austria
Society for Threatened Peoples International
Solidarite Tibet
Students for a Free Tibet – France
Students for a Free Tibet – UK
Tibet 59 / 62
Tibet Democratie
Tibet Initiative Deutschland
Tibet Liberte Solidarite
Tibet Libertes, France
Tibet Society, U.K.
Tibet Support Group – Ireland
Tibet Support Group – Netherlands
Tibet Unterstutzung Liechtenstein
Tibetan Community Austria
Tibetan Community in Britain
Tibetan Community in Ireland
Tibetan Youth Association in Europe
Tibetan Youth UK
Tibetisches Zentrum Hamburg
TSG Free Tibet And You
Tsowa-Maintenir la Vie, France
Urgence Tibet
Vercors Tibet Resistances
Vrienden Van Tibet

Northern Europe:

Association of Free Tibet
Friends of Tibet in Finland
Swedish Tibet Committee
The Norwegian Tibet Committee
Tibet Support Committee Denmark -
Tibetan Community in Denmark
Tibetan Community Sweden

Central & Eastern Europe:

Foundation Dharmaling (Slovenia)
Friends of Tibet Society St. Petersburg, Russia
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights – Tibet Desk
Lithuanian Tibet Culture Foundation
Polish Movement for a Free Tibet
Society for Croatia-Tibet Friendship
Students for a Free Tibet, Poland
The Foundation for Civil Society, Russia
Tibet cesky (Tibet in Czech)
Tibet Support Association – Hungary
Tibet Support Group – Krasnodar Region, Russia
Tibet Support Group – Romania
Tibet Support Group – Sochi Region, Russia
Tibetan Programme – The Other Space Foundation
Union Latvija Tibetai (Latvia for Tibet )
Zida Cels, Latvia

Rebiya Kadeer: The Real Uighur Story

Uyghur exiled leader Rebiya Kadeer speaks out against Chinese government propaganda and the brutal crackdown taking place in East Turkestan. Read her Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal.

When the Chinese government, with the comfort of hindsight, looks back on its handling of the unrest in Urumqi and East Turkestan this week, it will most likely tell the world with great satisfaction that it acted in the interests of maintaining stability. What officials in Beijing and Urumqi will most likely forget to tell the world is the reason why thousands of Uighurs risked everything to speak out against injustice, and the fact that hundreds of Uighurs are now dead for exercising their right to protest.

On Sunday, students organized a protest in the Döng Körük (Erdaoqiao) area of Urumqi. They wished to express discontent with the Chinese authorities’ inaction on the mob killing and beating of Uighurs at a toy factory in Shaoguan in China’s southern Guangdong province and to express sympathy with the families of those killed and injured. What started as a peaceful assembly of Uighurs turned violent as some elements of the crowd reacted to heavy-handed policing. I unequivocally condemn the use of violence by Uighurs during the demonstration as much as I do China’s use of excessive force against protestors.

Guardian footage: Lone Uyghur protester; Chinese gangs launch revenge attacks

Tania Branigan and Dan Chung report from Urumqi, where armed gangs of Chinese vigilantes have taken to the streets in revenge for Sundays uprising by Uyghurs. Incredible footage of paramilitaries temporarily retreating from lone elderly Uighur protester. Watch the footage

Uyghur Women Call for Release of 1,400 detained

In a courageous and moving act of defiance, hundreds of Uighur women and children took to the streets today demanding the release of the more than 1,400 Uyghurs detained since unrest broke out on Sunday in Urumqi. Watch the BBC Footage of the protest.

Woeser Detained in Lhasa for Taking Pictures

The Times Online in the UK reports that famed Tibetan writer and blogger Woeser was detained in Lhasa for taking pictures. She has since been released. Here’s the report from the Times:

Tibet’s most famous woman writer and blogger has been questioned by police for eight hours, accused of taking photographs on the street, after she returned home briefly to the capital, Lhasa.

The detention of Woeser, who like many Tibetans goes by a single name, underscores the nervousness of the authorities in the Himalayan city, where Tibetans restive under Beijing rule rioted in the streets in March, killing 22 people and setting fire to hundreds of offices and businesses.

Eight police arrived at the home of Woeser’s mother on Thursday and presented her with a summons to accompany them for questioning. Her husband, the author Wang Lixiong, said: “They had used the wrong name on the document so I insisted that they correct the name before they could take her away. I reminded them that they had to bring her home within the stipulated 12 hours.”

She was held for questioning by several officers who said that they were acting on a tip-off from a member of the public, who had seen her taking photographs of army and police positions in Lhasa from inside a taxi.

Mr Wang, who spoke on behalf of his wife because he was worried for her safety, told The Times: “She told them that it was not illegal to take photographs in a public place and she had not visited any secret areas or military installations. They had no legal basis for holding her.” The police searched her mother’s home and removed several documents as well as Mr Wang’s computer.

They hacked his password, checked all documents on the laptop and required Woeser to erase every photograph that showed a policeman or army officer on the streets of Lhasa or in Tibetan areas they had visited.

Mr Wang said: “I can’t say whether their intention was to intimidate. But if they can do this to an influential writer who has done nothing more than take photographs, then one can only imagine the kind of threat that ordinary people in Tibet must feel every day.”

The couple decided to return home to Beijing as soon as they could get flights, but first organised a reunion party with Woeser’s many family and friends in the city. However, many did not attend, apparently afraid of possible consequences after her encounter with the police. The couple flew back to Beijing on Saturday, less than 48 hours after her summons and six days into a planned month-long visit to Lhasa.