Bad News For Everyone?

Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve been on the war path about New York Times columnist Nick Kristof’s writings on Tibet and China for quite a long time. In my view, Kristof has taken a remarkable arrogant stance on Sino-Tibetan relations that reveal a startling lack of moral fortitude. He consistently tends towards anti-independence positions while apologizing for the worst Chinese abuses of human rights with off-handed speculation of intangible improvements. I think Kristof’s writings on Tibet and China are some of the most offensive on any foreign relations issue by quasi-liberal American pundits since Tom Friedman’s cheerleading in the lead-up to the Iraq war. Indeed, I believe Nick Kristof is complicit in the abuses by the Chinese government of local petitioners and Tibetans alike in the lead-up and duration of the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately while Kristof is outraging Tibetans and their supporters, he apparently is also pissing off Chinese nationalists, too. A few days ago the China Daily, the English language state-organ, printed a seering attack on Kristof’s columns, which they viewed as overly pro-Tibet.

This is bad news because Kristof will likely view pissing off both sides as a great achievement indicative of his excellent standing as a Serious Person. It also means we’re almost certainly guaranteed to get more awful, arrogant columns on Tibet and China by Nick Kristof.

Damn.

New York Times full-page ad today: Olympic ‘Athlete Wanted’ to stand up for Tibet

I don’t know if any of the small army of Chinese officials who live at the Chinese Consulate overlooking the West Side Highway here in Manhattan ever read the New York Times. But if they do, they likely coughed up their morning tea when they turned to page A9 in today’s Times.

I like to imagine Consul General Peng Keyu sitting down in his office and shaking his head at the front page story, just above the fold: Before Guests, Beijing Hides Some Messes.

“No, no, not hiding,” Mr. Peng says to himself. “Cleaning up. Cleaning up messes. Oh wait, no messes. There are no messes! Dammit.” And he turns to page A8 where the article continues.

Opposite the continued article on page A8 appears a full-page advertisement, impossible to ignore.

In big bold letters, it begins, “At every Olympics, there is ONE ATHLETE who ends up inspiring the world with their courage and character. We’re hoping that athlete is reading this.”

Mr. Peng’s stomach groans, and the phone begins to ring.

The ad copy continues:

WHO WILL STAND UP FOR TIBET THIS SUMMER? As 11,000 competitors gather to stand up for their countries, we ask them this: will one among you also stand up for Tibet? With the Olympics beckoning and the world looking to be inspired by your heroism, we remind you that 6 million Tibetans look to you for the very same thing. You can be there for Tibet, for they cannot. You can speak up for Tibet, for they have been silenced. The people of Tibet pass their torch to you. Will you carry it for them in Beijing?

At the bottom is the Team Tibet badge and the website address www.AthleteWanted.org

Of course, the ad and the website are just parts of a larger effort. Tibetans and their supporters have been reaching out to Olympic athletes from many participating countries, giving them packets of information about the Tibetan struggle and the current situation inside Tibet, T-shirts, small Tibetan flags, Rangzen Bracelets, and “Team Tibet” embroidered patches.

Athletes have already spoken out and expressed concerns about what is happening in Tibet right now. And they have reached out to Tibet groups (maybe us, maybe others, maybe I shouldn’t say!) for information, and advice on what they can do to show support. But until it happens, we may not know what kinds of actions athletes will take in Beijing. But we’re making sure they know.

In a press release sent out today to announce the ad, SFT Deputy Director Tendor says this:

“Olympic athletes have the platform and the power to inspire the world. At the Beijing Games, we believe athletes have the opportunity to inspire not only with their athletic performances, but also by standing up for what is right by supporting human rights and freedom for Tibet.”

Obama Boycotts Beijing Olympics

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said in a statement on Wednesday that given the chance he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

“In the absence of some sense of progress, in the absence of some sense from the Dalai Lama that there was progress, I would not have gone,” the presidential candidate told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday.

Obama feels the US has not been aggressive with “China on the issue of Tibet.” Obama said he “would liked to have seen some more aggressive efforts to encourage progress and talks between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama.

(more…)

Tibetan supporters seek action from athletes, community

June 29, 2008
by Robert D’Andrea | News Reporter
The Oregon Daily Herald

The Beijing 2008 Olympics will be a grand stage on which the world’s best athletes look to fulfill lifelong dreams. Tibetans around the world hope the games will also bring a global media spotlight to the brutal crackdowns that have taken place since protest broke out in March and their calls for greater autonomy from China. (more…)

IOC tells China to stop mixing politics and sport

A little example of too little too late… The IOC has ignored Tibetans and supporters calls to cancel the torch relay through Tibet and to hold China accountable to its promises of human rights improvements for years. Now when China makes another blatant statement linking politics and sports, (condemning the “Dalai-clique” at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Lhasa torch relay) the IOC comes out with the bold action of writing a letter to the organizers to “remind them of the need to separate sport and politics and to ask for their support in making sure that such situations do not arise again.” While the IOC falters, Tibetans continue to live under a brutal occupation in their homeland.

___________________________________________________________

By Nick Mulvenney

BEIJING, June 25 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told China on Wednesday to stop mixing sport and politics after a speech by Tibet’s Communist Party boss at the end of last weekend’s Beijing torch relay leg in Lhasa.

“The IOC regrets that political statements were made during the closing ceremony of the Torch Relay in Tibet,” the IOC said in a brief statement.

“We have written to BOCOG (Beijing Games organisers) to remind them of the need to separate sport and politics and to ask for their support in making sure that such situations do not arise again.” (more…)

SFT Press Release on Lhasa Torch Relay

For Immediate Release: June 20, 2008

CHINA PARADES OLYMPIC TORCH THROUGH TIBETAN CAPITAL LHASA UNDER LOCKDOWN
Massive Chinese Security Presence Places Lhasa Under Virtual Martial Law for Olympics Propaganda Exercise

New York – Chinese authorities have placed the Tibetan capital under virtual martial law to prepare for a one-day Olympic torch relay, which begins today at 9am, Beijing time. Three months after a Tibetan popular uprising against China’s occupation began in Lhasa, thousands of Chinese police and paramilitary forces have been mobilized in the city. Checkpoints have been set up, paramilitary forces have been marching through the streets, and trucks filled with riot police are patrolling throughout Lhasa.

“China’s parading of the Olympic torch through the Tibetan capital only three months after a popular uprising against Chinese occupation is blatantly political and offensive,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The Chinese government is wielding the Olympic torch as a tool of oppression over the heads of Tibetans still suffering under China’s brutal clampdown.”

An unconfirmed source in Lhasa has reported that Chinese officials have imposed an unofficial curfew banning unauthorized people from the streets until after 1pm when the torch relay concludes. The same source said that people have been told that they must not look out of their windows overlooking the torch relay route. According to a June 2nd report on China Tibet News, Tibetans have been “severely punished” for the crime of “creating and spreading rumors” regarding the torch relay.

“The torch relay in Lhasa is China’s latest episode in a series of betrayals of everything the Olympics represent,” said Kate Woznow, Campaigns Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Parading the torch through Lhasa while Tibetans live under virtual martial law is China’s most egregious exploitation of the Games yet.”
(more…)

Tibetans and Supporters Protest Outside of IOC Meeting in Athens; Activists Ejected From Hotel Grounds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Photos & Video Available:
http://pressroom.tibetanyouth.org | http://blog.studentsforafreetibet.org/athens

5 June 2008

Tibetans Demand IOC Cancel Tibet Leg of Torch Relay and Pressure China for Immediate Media Access to Tibet

Contact: Tenzin Yeshi, Tibetan Youth Association in Europe: +30 698 373 6339
Lhadon Tethong, Students for a Free Tibet: +30 698 232 7958

Athens – Pro-Tibet activists protested outside the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Executive Board meeting today in Athens. Four young Tibetan women from the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe were denied access to the hotel where the IOC meeting is taking place, and immediately staged a dramatic ‘die-in’ to symbolize the death of Tibetans which Tibet activists fear is likely if China is allowed to parade the Olympic torch through Tibetan areas. Additionally, two activists were ejected from the hotel after distributing leaflets appealing to supporters of the Olympic movement to speak up to the IOC. Outside, supporters also held Tibetan flags and banners reading “IOC: No Torch In Tibet!” and “Open Tibet To Media!” During the demonstration, the four Tibetan women carried a photo of Sangye Lhamo, a 23-year old Tibetan nun who was beaten and arrested by Chinese police last Thursday after staging a peaceful protest in Kardze, eastern Tibet. (more…)

Transcript of Press Conference by Tibet Activists on Eve of IOC Meeting in Athens

TIBET ACTIVISTS SPEAK OUT ON EVE OF INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE MEETING IN ATHENS
TRANSCRIPT OF STATEMENTS MADE AT PRESS CONFERENCE
JUNE 3RD, FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION OF GREECE, ATHENS

1) INTRODUCTION BY LHADON TETHONG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET (SFT) INTERNATIONAL
2) TENDON DAHORTSANG, PRESIDENT, TIBETAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION IN EUROPE, ON THE CURRENT SITUATION IN TIBET
3) BORIS EICHLER, PRESS OFFICER, TIBET INITIATIVE DEUTSCHLAND, ON THE TORCH RELAY THROUGH TIBET
4) LHADON TETHONG, SFT, ON INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ACCESS TO TIBET

Below is the transcript of remarks by Tibet campaigners at a press conference at the Foreign Press Association of Greece in Athens, June 3rd. The press conference was broadcast live on the Internet and can be viewed at: www.sfttv.org. The remarks were followed by questions by reporters present in the room as well as by viewers who watched the press conference live online and asked their questions in an accompanying web-forum. Transcript may vary slightly from the remarks as delivered by the presenters but the following should be regarded as the official remarks of the identified activists.

INTRODUCTION BY LHADON TETHONG
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET INTERNATIONAL

Good Morning and thank you everyone for joining us.

My name is Lhadon Tethong and I am the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet International based in New York.

As you know, we are here in Athens because the International Olympic Committee is meeting from tomorrow, June 4th to June 6th. This is their last meeting before August, followed shortly thereafter by the Beijing Games. Meanwhile, the meeting also comes just days before the Olympic torch is scheduled to make its first stop in Tibet.
(more…)

IOC, China clash over human rights

Globe and Mail
April 10, 2008 at 9:36 PM EDT

By Geoffrey York

BEIJING — The International Olympic Committee and China clashed yesterday over human rights and the protest-plagued Olympic torch relay. IOC president Jacques Rogge acknowledged that the Olympics have plunged into crisis, then pleaded with China to respect its promises on human rights. (more…)

Torch headed out of San Francisco after surprise route designed to thwart protesters

San Francisco Chronicle
April 10, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco leaders surprised thousands of supporters and protesters today by rerouting the Beijing Olympic torch run from its advertised route to a more picturesque course that avoided the throngs of demonstrators lined up along the Embarcadero.

Authorities confirmed that the closing ceremony at Justin Herman Plaza had been canceled, though thousands of people remain there. City officials said it would soon head to the airport, where it is scheduled to leave for Buenos Aires on a China Airways flight. (more…)