ID :
15149
Wed, 08/06/2008 - 19:16
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/15149
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Protests staged in Beijing ahead of Olympics
BEIJING, Aug. 6 Kyodo - A series of small protests were held in Beijing on Wednesday as demonstrators attempted to evade the massive security operation in place for the Olympic Games.
Four American and British activists belonging to Students for a Free Tibet, a New York-based advocacy group, were detained by Chinese authorities after unfurling ''Free Tibet'' banners, the group said on its website.
The protesters -- two American men and a man and a woman from Britain -- staged their protest at dawn on a bridge near the National Stadium, which will host the Olympics' opening ceremony on Friday.
Two of the men climbed light poles to display the banners on a bridge near the stadium, with one reading ''One World, One Dream. Free Tibet'' and the other ''Tibet will be free.''
The official Xinhua News Agency reported that all four were arrested.
The same protest group made headlines around the world last August when activists abseiled down the side of the Great Wall of China near Beijing to unfurl a giant Free Tibet banner.
In another protest, reporters received an anonymous e-mail directing them to go to two hotel rooms in the city for a ''significant attention-getting event.''
In one of the hotel rooms, a Kyodo News reporter found slogans daubed on the walls criticizing China's human rights record. Furniture was overturned and a dummy was placed in a seat with a black bag on its head, apparently symbolizing a political prisoner.
Among the slogans written on the walls was ''Beijing 2008. One World, One Nightmare,'' a play on the official Olympic slogan ''One World, One Dream.''
Another slogan called for the release of various people detained in China, including religious figures, civil rights activists and journalists. The names included the Beijing-based rights activist Hu Jia, who was sentenced earlier this year to three-and-a-half years in prison for subversion.
Reporters trying to visit the same room later Wednesday were turned away by staff at the door. The Kyodo News reporter was unable to gain access to the other hotel room mentioned in the e-mail.
A further e-mail sent to journalists said details of the protest would be given later at a press conference in California held by a group called the Hacienda Christian Fellowship.
In a third protest, a pro-Tibet group, which refused to reveal its name to reporters, attempted to clandestinely show foreign journalists a video about Tibet at a hotel room in Beijing, which again criticized China's rights record.
The hotel manager stopped the video and pleaded for journalists to leave, saying showing the film would land his business in trouble.
A young European man hosting the video, who refused to give his name, said, ''I'm sorry you didn't get to see what we wanted to see. We'll get the information on what you came to see to you as soon as possible.''
The BBC was earlier secretly shown the same film, uninterrupted, at another hotel in Beijing.
A BBC reporter, who asked not to be named, told Kyodo News, ''It was lots of interviews filmed in Tibet before March commenting on China, the Olympics, and religious freedom, voicing a lot of criticism.''
''We were told that the two Tibetans who made the film are now in detention,'' he added.
The footage was smuggled out of Tibet in March ahead of the rioting and antigovernment protests which hit the region later that month.
The excerpt that Kyodo News viewed was introduced by Dechen Pemba, a British citizen of Tibetan origin who was deported from China in July for allegedly having links to illegal separatist organizations.
A statement released by e-mail by the group showing the film said it was filmed by Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan farmer, and a monk named Golog Jigme, and was edited and produced by Tibetan exiles in Switzerland.
About 150,000 police and members of the military are patrolling the streets of the Chinese capital in the run-up to the Olympics, according to figures quoted by state-run media.
Nearly 300,000 volunteers, mainly retired people wearing red arm bands, have also been deployed on virtually every street in the city to watch for disturbances.
The Chinese government has said rights groups, as well as terrorist organizations, are among those attempting to disrupt the Games.
Four American and British activists belonging to Students for a Free Tibet, a New York-based advocacy group, were detained by Chinese authorities after unfurling ''Free Tibet'' banners, the group said on its website.
The protesters -- two American men and a man and a woman from Britain -- staged their protest at dawn on a bridge near the National Stadium, which will host the Olympics' opening ceremony on Friday.
Two of the men climbed light poles to display the banners on a bridge near the stadium, with one reading ''One World, One Dream. Free Tibet'' and the other ''Tibet will be free.''
The official Xinhua News Agency reported that all four were arrested.
The same protest group made headlines around the world last August when activists abseiled down the side of the Great Wall of China near Beijing to unfurl a giant Free Tibet banner.
In another protest, reporters received an anonymous e-mail directing them to go to two hotel rooms in the city for a ''significant attention-getting event.''
In one of the hotel rooms, a Kyodo News reporter found slogans daubed on the walls criticizing China's human rights record. Furniture was overturned and a dummy was placed in a seat with a black bag on its head, apparently symbolizing a political prisoner.
Among the slogans written on the walls was ''Beijing 2008. One World, One Nightmare,'' a play on the official Olympic slogan ''One World, One Dream.''
Another slogan called for the release of various people detained in China, including religious figures, civil rights activists and journalists. The names included the Beijing-based rights activist Hu Jia, who was sentenced earlier this year to three-and-a-half years in prison for subversion.
Reporters trying to visit the same room later Wednesday were turned away by staff at the door. The Kyodo News reporter was unable to gain access to the other hotel room mentioned in the e-mail.
A further e-mail sent to journalists said details of the protest would be given later at a press conference in California held by a group called the Hacienda Christian Fellowship.
In a third protest, a pro-Tibet group, which refused to reveal its name to reporters, attempted to clandestinely show foreign journalists a video about Tibet at a hotel room in Beijing, which again criticized China's rights record.
The hotel manager stopped the video and pleaded for journalists to leave, saying showing the film would land his business in trouble.
A young European man hosting the video, who refused to give his name, said, ''I'm sorry you didn't get to see what we wanted to see. We'll get the information on what you came to see to you as soon as possible.''
The BBC was earlier secretly shown the same film, uninterrupted, at another hotel in Beijing.
A BBC reporter, who asked not to be named, told Kyodo News, ''It was lots of interviews filmed in Tibet before March commenting on China, the Olympics, and religious freedom, voicing a lot of criticism.''
''We were told that the two Tibetans who made the film are now in detention,'' he added.
The footage was smuggled out of Tibet in March ahead of the rioting and antigovernment protests which hit the region later that month.
The excerpt that Kyodo News viewed was introduced by Dechen Pemba, a British citizen of Tibetan origin who was deported from China in July for allegedly having links to illegal separatist organizations.
A statement released by e-mail by the group showing the film said it was filmed by Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan farmer, and a monk named Golog Jigme, and was edited and produced by Tibetan exiles in Switzerland.
About 150,000 police and members of the military are patrolling the streets of the Chinese capital in the run-up to the Olympics, according to figures quoted by state-run media.
Nearly 300,000 volunteers, mainly retired people wearing red arm bands, have also been deployed on virtually every street in the city to watch for disturbances.
The Chinese government has said rights groups, as well as terrorist organizations, are among those attempting to disrupt the Games.
