Tibetans and activists protest UN visit by Wen Jiabao, Beijing’s “kinder and gentler” face
The series of protests will last for Mr Wen’s entire visit. The Chinese leader is expected to address the United Nations General Assembly today, meet US President George W Bush and give an interview to CNN.
Tibetans have accused China’s leadership of trying to cover up the ongoing clampdown inside Tibet by blocking tourists and international media from travelling to the region, claiming that the situation on the ground is “normalised.”
“Wen Jiabao is the Chinese leadership's master spin doctor,” said Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet. “The Premier is charged with presenting a kinder, gentler face of the Chinese government, but all the spin in the world can't hide the ugly reality of China's extreme hard-line policies in Tibet that are designed to silence anyone who dares to speak out for human rights and freedom.”
Tibet campaigners want the Chinese government to engage in substantive negotiations with the Tibetan government-in-exile. They have also called for the immediate release of Tibetans detained during the March protests, including Tibetan filmmakers Dhondup Wangchen and Golog Jigme who were arrested for daring to make a documentary about the plight of the Tibetan people under the Chinese yoke and their true feelings about the Beijing Olympics.
Other organisations like Free Church for China and the Coalition for Citizen’s Rights have organised another demonstration for tomorrow across from the UN building and are putting on a photo and art exhibit on human rights.
In addition to demanding the release of many clergymen and civilians, these groups blame China for the lack of transparency in the areas of food quality (see milk scandal) and building standards (see the scandal of schools that collapsed during the recent Sichuan earthquake). (NC)
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