11 Comments:

It is indeed interesting to see all these oversea Chinese come out to support Olympic torch relay. Have we asked ourself why they didn't show up while the protests were in front of Chinese embassies? Why the same group of people launched big protest against the Chinese government in 1989 but now supporting the government? One simple answer is that protest and intended interruption of Olympic torch relay is perceived to be targeted against China (not Chinese government). Protesters were trying to embarrass Chinese government. However, by doing so they embarrassed Chinese people as well since Olympic is considered a big party for all Chinese. This is the unexpected outcome of these pro-Tibet protesters. Right protest at the wrong place? At least, that's the way most oversea Chinese see it.

By  Anonymous, at 21 April, 2008 22:05  

Anonymouse#1:
The protests of the torch relay have clearly been criticising the Chinese gov't, not the Chinese people. If those exchange students haven't noticed that, the responsibility is theirs.

The protesters are calling loudly for human rights, and an end to the mistreatment of Tibetans (and CCP's support for Burmese monk killers, Sudan's Islamist rulers' atrocities on Darfur etc). Those are the responsibility of CCP alone, not Chinese citizens who get no say in these matters. If the excitable exchange students in foreign countries don't get it, they should make more of an effort.

I actually laughed out loud to read, "Why the same group of people launched big protest against the Chinese government in 1989 but now supporting the government?"

You can find any number of Western news stories, where the journalist asks young people in Beijing (almost the only place journalists are allowed these days), what they think of the 1989 Beijing massacre (Tiananmen incident). They don't know about it! Most of them never even heard about it! And they don't care about it. It's often been said in the past weeks that the group most likely to challenge CCP rule is not the 20-somethings, but the 40-somethings.

For you to claim these angry patriotic kids are the same people who protested CCP in 1989 is, excuse me, crazy. Some of them weren't even born yet. And the rest were barely even in school.

Just who do you think you're speaking to here? Dummies who would fall for that gag?

If the protesters are genuinely trying to embarrass CCP into living up to its promises made in 2001, and if Chinese people feel some embarrassment also, then that's the way it is. Maybe that's what they need. But nobody is protesting against the Chinese people, and those "top .01% of smart Chinese students who study abroad" ought to be smart enough to figure that out.

Yes, the people see Olympics as a great big party for all Chinese. Lots of other people don't see much to celebrate when PAP opens fire upon peacefully demonstrating Tibetans (which continue now, long after the Lhasa riot).

Your CCP rulers made this Olympic business into an event to show off the greatness of China and correctness of their rule, they made it political, with promises to improve the country's record on rights and freedoms. They broke every promise made to the world, performed an impersonation of Burma's violent ruling thugs last month, and now complain when many in the world object?

If Chinese people are so proud to now be a "globally connected society" (as they should be), they need to wake up and smell the coffee. It's not about what they have done, it's about what their permanent ruling party is doing. Falling back on blind nationalism is easy - emotionalism over rational thought. That won't get you good grades, and it won't get you good government either.

By  Agam, at 22 April, 2008 09:22  

I see,"The protests of the torch relay have clearly been criticising the Chinese gov't, not the Chinese people. If those exchange students haven't noticed that, the responsibility is theirs".
Ha ha,this comment really hurt the feelings of our Chinese people.
You are insulting us,and we have to face it with smilings,and say sorry to you.
"criticising the Chinese gov't",do you even know the formal name of our govenment?People's Republic of China.ZhongHuaRenMinGongHeGuo
You do not know 中国,you do not know中国人,you even do not know the 西藏which is as one part of 中国.
What I ask for from your Americans is little,please to know the real 中国,please to listen to the voices from the ordinary 中国人.
This govenment has made more than one billion of Chinese people get better life than ever before,and why you keep abusing us.
Speaking of the so called"Tian"incident,I watched the video made by VOA or Freedom Asia,whatever,I didn't see any killings from it,only the guesses of killings by the woman hierophant.
We Chinese do not want conflict,we want peace.
For more than 160 years,we Chinese have had so many hurtings from you Western Countries,you killed us,you robbed us,you insulted us,after all of these,we are educated to be friendly to you,but see what you are doing to us.

By  Anonymous, at 22 April, 2008 10:27  

I actually laughed out loud to read "Just who do you think you're speaking to here? Dummies who would fall for that gag?" Given the benefit of doubt that you are not a total dummy but you sure don't know how to read. In the whole response, I was talking about oversea Chinese population. Did you see the word "student" anywhere in my previous response? Many of the oversea population actually did protest against the government back in 1989 either in China or abroad after 6/4. I met quite a few people of my age at the torch relay in San Francisco and many of them participated in the demonstration in Beijing on Tiananmen square just like I did. None of them is a big fan of the government but they showed up to support their home country and Olympics. In addition to many old Chinese Americans who have been here for 50/60 years, I have also met people from Hongkong and Taiwan there as well. Do you think the "brainwashed by CCP" explanation still apply to them? Why did they show up? Because just like myself and my peers, they are proud to see Olympic is hosted in China this year.

If your group's message is not well received by one person, it is his fault. If it is not well received by a large group, you may want to sit back and think why.

Falling back on blind hatred of CCP is easy - emotionalism over rational thought. That won't get you good grades, and it won't get you good solution to any complex problem either.

Like one of my Tibetan Chinese friends told me, these protests by Tibetan exile groups only make themselves feel good. To the contrary of their expectation, these protests help government gain support among ordinary Chinese and only worsen the situation in Tibet for local Tibetans. But people like you probably don't care. That's the way it is...

By  Anonymous, at 22 April, 2008 11:16  

The Olympic Torch Relay Campaign2008/04/08
LHASA/BERLIN(Own report) - Conference reports and the research of a Canadian journalist reveal that a German Foreign Ministry front organization is playing a decisive role in the preparations of the anti-Chinese Tibet campaign. According to this information, the campaign is being orchestrated from a Washington based headquarters. It had been assigned the task of organizing worldwide "protests" at a conference organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (affiliated with the German Free Democratic Party - FDP) in May 2007. The plans were developed with the collaboration of the US State Department and the self-proclaimed Tibetan Government in Exile and call for high profile actions along the route of the Olympic Torch Relay and are supposed to reach a climax in August during the games in Beijing. The campaign began already last summer and is now profiting from the current uprising in the west of the People's Republic of China that is receiving prominent coverage in the German media. The uprising was initiated with murderous pogrom-like attacks by Tibetan gangs on non-Tibetan members of the population, including the Muslim Chinese minority. Numerous deaths of non-Tibetans provoked a reaction of the Chinese security forces.
According to the research by a Canadian journalist, a conference organized by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNSt) gave the impetus to the current anti-Chinese Tibet campaign that violently forced the interruption of the Olympian Torch Relay in Paris last Monday.[1] The conference was the fifth "International Tibet Support Groups Conference," that was held from May 11 - 14, 2007 in Brussels. According to FNSt information this conference was supposed to do nothing other than the four preceding conferences [2] - "coordinate the work of the international Tibet groups and consolidate the links between them with the central Tibetan Government in Exile."[3] The German foundation, which is largely state financed, began the conference preparations in March 2005, and coordinated its plans with the Dalai Lama at his headquarters in the self-proclaimed Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala, India. More than 300 participants from 56 countries, 36 Tibetan associations and 145 Tibet support groups were represented at the conference.
Roadmap
After several days of consultations the conference ended with a concerted "plan of action". The paper is entitled "Roadmap for the Tibet Movement for the Coming Years" covering four areas of interest: "political support for negotiations", "human rights", "environment and development" and "the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing." The results of the conference are directed to the Tibetan people as well as "their supporters around the world."[4] Rolf Berndt, a member of the FNSt's executive council in Brussels, declared that the Olympic Games "are an excellent opportunity" to publicly promote the cause of the "Tibet Movement".[5] The conference participants agreed to make the Olympics the single focus of attack for their activities for the next 15 months.[6] They hired a full-time organizer for their campaign, who has since been directing the worldwide Tibet actions from their Washington headquarters.
State Department
The decisions taken at the conference in Brussels, prepared by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, are particularly significant not only because of the large number of participants but also because of the influential politicians who helped in their formulation. For example the self-proclaimed Tibetan Government in Exile, which enjoys much prestige among separatists, was represented by its "Prime Minister" Samdong Rinpoche. Also attending was another eminent politician from the Indian Himachal Pradesh state, bordering on the People's Republic of China, where the town Dharamsala is located, the "seat" of the Tibetan "Government in Exile." A brisk interchange takes place between Himachan Pradesh and the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. Paula Dobriansky, the Undersecretary of State in the US State Department and special coordinator for Tibet questions also participated. She was a member of the National Security Council already in the Reagan Administration, continued her career in the State Department during the administration of President Bush Sr. and since 2001 was again in the US foreign ministry. Ms Drobriansky is considered to be one of the members of the neo-conservative inner circle in the Bush Administration and ranks as a hard-liner capable of imposing policy.
Every Day
As a Canadian journalist learned through his research, the campaign headquarters in Washington, that had been decided upon at the conference in Brussels, has been able to develop rather successful activities. Already at the beginning of August 2007, exactly one year before the opening of the Olympics, a close associate organized a high profile action at the tourist filled Great Wall to the north of Beijing. She maintains close contact to the Tibetan "Government in Exile".[7] Another close associate recently orchestrated the disturbance of the Olympic Torch Relay in Greece, seen on television around the world. The Washington headquarters is orchestrating other "protests" intended to disturb the Torch Relay. The campaign will reach its climax during the Olympic games in August. "We are determined to have non-violent direct action in the heart of Beijing, inside the Games, every day," one activist declared.[8]
Merciless
The anti-Chinese Tibet campaign, initiated under the direction of a German Foreign Ministry front organization (Friedrich Naumann Foundation) and a high-ranking representative of the US State Department, is developing its full efficacy in the aftermath of the uprisings in West People's Republic of China that began only a few days before the start of the Torch Relay. Whereas the German media mainly reported on brutal attacks of the Chinese security forces, eye-witness accounts provide a different picture of what happened. The British journalist, James Miles ("The Economist"), who was in Lhasa from March 12 - 19, reports of pogrom-like attacks by Tibetan gangs on non-Tibetan members of the population of the city, among them the Muslim minority. According to Miles, the shops of Tibetan merchants were marked and left unscathed while all other shops were plundered, destroyed or set afire.[9] In one building alone five textile saleswomen were burned to death. Besides Miles, western tourists also described the attacks on non-Tibetans. One Canadian saw how a group of Tibetans beat a Chinese motorcyclist and proceeded to "mercilessly" stone him. "Eventually they got him on the ground, they were hitting him on the head with stones until he lost consciousness. I believe that young man was killed,'' reported the tourist.[10]
Manipulations
Whereas Miles was describing the reluctant reactions of the Chinese security forces in an interview broadcast over CNN, the German media is using the uprisings as a backdrop to represent brutal Chinese repression. Facts obviously play a subordinate role. In the meantime, television channels and daily journals have had to admit manipulations of pictures. Film sequences with Nepalese policemen beating demonstrators were sold as documentation of alleged Chinese police attacks.[11] The security forces' saving a boy from an attacking Tibetan mob was coarsely labeled a violent arrest. Even Miles' report was editorially presented in a context to focus on Chinese repression. For the purpose of comparison, german-foreign-policy.com documents excerpts of a CNN interview with the British journalist as well as the corresponding passage from a renowned German daily.[12] (Click here.)
Anticipation
The pogrom-like mob-violence not only created the necessary media profile for the current Tibet campaign, initiated with the help of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, it also permits an insight into the character of Tibetan separatism. The "prime minister" of the Tibetan "Exile Government," who had participated in the formulation of the plan of action at the May 2007 Tibet Conference in Brussels, had already at the end of the 1990s, expounded in the German media on his views of the future of non-Tibetans, who had immigrated to Tibet over the past 50 years. In the case of a successful secession, they will have to "return to China, or if they would like to remain, be treated as foreigners." He explained the planned measures: "they will, in any case, not be allowed to participate in the political life."[13] The prospect of discrimination against all non-Tibetan members of the population was anticipated in mid-March by mobs in their bloody attacks on Chinese and members of the Muslim minority.
Please read also Strategies of Attrition (I), Strategies of Attrition (II), Strategies of Attrition (III), Strategies of Attrition (IV) and The Olympic Lever.
[1] Doug Saunders: How three Canadians upstaged Beijing; Globe and Mail 29.03.2008. Die Konferenz wurde von der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung in Zusammenarbeit mit der selbsternannten tibetischen Exilregierung und einem interfraktionellen Zusammenschluss des belgischen Parlaments durchgeführt.
[2] Die ersten vier "International Tibet Support Groups Conferences" fanden 1990 (Dharamsala), 1996 (Bonn), 2000 (Berlin) und 2003 (Prag) statt. Bereits die zweite Konferenz wurde von der Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung organisiert.
[3] Gerhardt kritisiert Belgien nach Absage des Dalai-Lama-Besuchs; www.fnst-freiheit.org 11.05.2007
[4] Brussels Tibet conference roadmap for peace in Tibet; www.tibet.com 14.05.2007
[5] Valedictory Speech, International Tibet Support Groups Conference 5th, Dr. h.c. Rolf Berndt, Executive Director, Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fuer die Freiheit,Brussels, 14th May 2007
[6], [7}, [8] Doug Saunders: How three Canadians upstaged Beijing; Globe and Mail 29.03.2008
[9] Transcript: James Miles interview on Tibet; CNN 20.03.2008
[10] Chinese beaten mercilessly - tourists; Herald Sun 19.03.2008
[11] Fotos aus Tibet; Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 24.03.2008
[12] see also Augenzeuge
[13] "99 Prozent der Tibeter vertrauen in Seine Heiligkeit"; Berliner Zeitung 20.10.1997. Ähnlich hat sich erst kürzlich der Dalai Lama geäußert. "Alle Chinesen, die Tibetisch sprechen und die tibetische Kultur respektieren, können bleiben", sagte er einer deutschen Zeitung - mit einer Einschränkung: "sofern es nicht zu viele sind". "China mischt sich auch in Deutschlands Angelegenheiten ein"; Süddeutsche Zeitung 21.09.2007

By  Anonymous, at 22 April, 2008 11:34  

Kudos to Hafiz and thank you Adam for introducing us to his blog.

By  Aqua, at 22 April, 2008 11:56  

Anonymouse #2:
Funny. A statement that what is obvious to everyone - protesters are criticising the policies of CCP gov't - should be first understood by the patriotic overseas students, that it's their responsibility to be properly aware of this, is called as an "insult." Maybe that word doesn't mean what you think it means?

No, you don't have to listen to criticism of your gov't with a smile and a sorry. Your gov't needs to listen - the citizens have no say in the matter, they can't change their gov't (it's against the law). What a twisted, intentional misreading of what I wrote.

Of course I know the PRC title, it doesn't matter what it is in your language, every country has their own words for their own things. Every state that has "People's" or "People's Democratic" in its title, has something in common. I'll let you figure it out.

You want to deny the deaths of at least hundreds and more likely a thousand or more, of your own countrymen at the hands of this "People's" permanent ruling Party; at least I know who I'm dealing with here. Their mothers haven't forgotten.

And then to wrap up your comment by falling back on the victim card. Poor us, we're victims. Get over it, the only power victimizing you now, are the ones who rule you as they wish and without accountability, without your say about anything. Choosing different leadership is illegal. Deal with that rather than crying over 19th century stuff. Playing victim is not very appealing to others, when the "victim" is beating elderly Buddhist monks with sticks, and shooting people for waving a flag or calling out for liberty.

It's just not credible for China to be playing victim in this. Nobody thought the protests last October in front of Burmese embassies around the world (and Chinese embassies too, don't forget) were directed toward the long suffering Burmese people (nor the Chinese people). Nobody would have been silly enough to try to paint the ruling Burmese military thugs, as victims. It's illogical.

"Why you keep abusing us?" you cry. Try, just try to think rationally about this, will you?

By  Agam, at 22 April, 2008 11:57  

Anonymouse #3 (or is it Anonymouse #1 - why not just pick a name?)

When I wrote that, most prominent in my mind was my own direct experience of them in Bangkok on Saturday. The really provocative group, of which some actually tried to attack the Tibetans and their supporters, were all kids. Every one of them. And the reports from journalists about attitudes in Beijing, where they found much stronger support for the gov't and ignorance about Tiananmen among the 20-somethings, they are out there and I'm sure you can locate them.

Like I told the other guy, it's not a rule. All supporters of CCP are not young and ignorant (how could that be, anyway?). And I don't doubt that there are people who supported the democracy movement in '89, who support the CCP policies in Tibet today. I don't doubt it for a minute.

But my experiences on Saturday here, at the UN building in Bangkok, has made quite an impression. I'll be sure to remember that they don't represent the diversity of China.

So. How can we promote some kind of introspection on the part of China's leaders, and even among China's now-fired-up nationalistic citizens? Any ideas?

By  Agam, at 22 April, 2008 12:09  

Anonymouse #4:

Would you folks please pick a name, any name, when you post comments? I wonder if I'm talking to the same guy all the time or not.

I wondered how soon this Friedrich Naumann Foundation stuff would come up. When your comment popped into my mailbox, I thought "Hmm, I just read yesterday about this theory being promulgated by the Chinese media, where was it again?"

Then I remembered: Globe and Mail, "Canada's national newspaper." A column by the very same Doug Saunders who supposedly revealed this "German conspiracy." He was shocked to wake up last Monday, and find that he was a new hero in China. Read it all, it's entertaining.

Do a Google News search for his name, and you'll find this article at the top, followed by the Chinese state-controlled media stories (why is Google News still crediting these as legitimate news services?) trumpeting what he didn't say. Whenever CCP controlled media is trumpeting something this much, its usually false.

Beijing has become the guardian of the Chinese brand

"I went back to look at what I'd written, and it had very little to do with what China Daily's "Doug Saunders" said," he writes.

The Tibet Support Groups conference is a regular event (not even annual, maybe every 4 years, like that sporting festival everyone's talking about). Neither the State Dept. nor any other government attended, it was not organised by Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which in turn is not owned or controlled by the German Government, says Saunders, and more.

And I would add that Tibet support groups, Chinese democracy support groups, Falun Dafa support groups, Burmese democracy movement, Reporters without Borders, etc. etc. have known since 2001 that 08-08-08 would be a point of judgement: Has China kept the promises it made? The period leading up to that date presented the best opportunities to push their cases before the world, which is exactly what they've done.

08-08-08 is the exact 20th anniversary of the (China-backed) Burmese junta's crackdown on their democracy movement, which resulted in thousands of dead idealistic students, monks and citizens. Olympic opening day will have special significance for them. Their "Tiananmen" came less than a year before the Chinese one.

To expect that all these heavily suppressed peoples and groups would just ignore the Beijing Olympics, is foolish. They were all open about how they would campaign in the run-up, so pretending to be surprised now and making a grand international secret conspiracy out of it, is just idiotic.

As for the other sources in the article (is this taken right out of China Daily, Anon#4, or what?) I have no idea. I don't read German.

By  Agam, at 22 April, 2008 13:48  

Hi, Agam. I am the anonymous #1 and #3. Sorry I was too lazy to pick a name. Here are a couple ideas to help get the message cross to the "China's now-fired-up nationalistic citizens":

1. Whenever possible, use "Chinese Government" instead of "China" in your messages and slogans
2. Instead of just asking for freedom in Tibet, talk this in a broader term, like "better human rights in Tibet and rest of China". Tibetans are oppressed but they are no more oppressed than anyone else in China.
3. "Free Tibet" slogan has the implication of Tibet Independence. If you need to use it, use it with "Free China" to avoid confusion. Unless the independence is what you are seeking.

just my 2cents.

By  Anonymous, at 22 April, 2008 21:10  

Justin, no problem, glad to meet you.

I agree wholeheartedly with your ideas, and don't be shy to correct or chastise me if you see me lose sight of them. I'll even go back and edit a post if you have a good point.

In fact it was nice to read your comment when the Bangkok human rights protest was still fresh in my mind. I heard a couple of the organisers that day making exactly these points among our group. Any proposed chant that might be received in the wrong way, was nixed. "Chinese out!" for example. I've read on SFT sites, these same points also being made. Our beef is with the CCP, not the Chinese people (except those individuals who must of course be responsible for their own actions, like the persecutors of Grace Wang, the ones who tried to attack us in Bangkok, people like that).

I think I'm pretty clear in my writing that I'm opposed to CCP and its policies. I've never said I'm against Chinese citizens, and I don't believe I've written anything that could be construed that way. I do have close friends of Chinese ancestry, and actually the very very first best friend in my life (at 6 years old) happened to be in that category, from Philippines. I hope that doesn't come across as contrived, because it isn't - just a statement of fact. The commenters who hate me will take it that way, but you sound reasonable and I'll take that chance.

I'm sure not anti-Chinese, but I am emphatically anti-CCP. I've done articles on Hu Jia and other persecuted Chinese freedom lovers, and I wish them liberty just as much as I wish it for Tibetan freedom lovers. It shouldn't be "Down China!" but it should be "Down CCP!".

On just shortening "Chinese government" to "China", I certainly do it in headlines, as most headline writers would do. "Russia tells EU to piss off" eh? OK I made that up.

CCP (the gov't) makes decisions, China (the state) carries them out. It's unfortunate that China, the state actor, is in no way equivalent to the Chinese people, but I have a feeling the Chinese people actually do get the distinction. Their gov't is not accountable, they themselves are not responsible for that.

It's a good point you make that dissent is suppressed within China itself also. There have been an estimated 70-80,000 public demonstrations (about a range of problems) annually over past couple of years; these are rarely reported abroad due to media controls of CCP. Violent crackdowns happen in some of them, not much different than what is being done in Tibet now. Beatings, sometimes shootings, and sometimes people have been killed.

And I do get your point about "Free Tibet", which we did shout on Saturday. Because the one word in English is used both to mean "to have liberty" and also "to be rid of" something, it can be mis-received. I think Chinese folks who are offended by it will just have to try receiving it in the idealistic sense of freedom, instead of reaching for the negative connotation. Because I don't think that slogan can be put back in the box now.

A little effort on both sides - care not to cause undue resentment or push the hottest buttons, on Tibetan side; and try not to automatically assume the worst motives imaginable from Tibetans, by the Chinese side - is really called for now.

Once again, I believe this is what Grace was trying to do at Duke, with genuinely good intentions. And look what happened to her. When people start throwing around terms like "race traitor", something is amiss. But whatever it is, it's not Grace or people like her who are the problem. It's the fired up nationalists who really could use some introspection right now.

By  Agam, at 23 April, 2008 13:43  

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