Anti-Chinese Uprising in Tibet

[Kim Sung]

Anti-China protest targets Olympic torch ceremony

The Associated PressPublished: April 3, 2008

ISTANBUL: The police detained at least six Uighur Muslims on Thursday at an anti-China protest during the Olympic torch ceremony near one of Turkey's most famous tourist destinations.

The demonstrators were detained after they broke away from a larger group of protesters and shouted slogans just feet away from Tugba Karademir, a Turkish figure skater and Olympic athlete who had just started to run with the torch through the city.



About 200 Uighur Muslims had converged ahead of the ceremony near Istanbul's Blue Mosque and the domed Haghia Sofia church.

The Olympic flame is on a global tour before the summer games in Beijing. Activists have called for protests following unrest in Tibet. There also have been reports of unrest by the Uighur minority in China's Xinjiang region. Uighurs are related to Turks, and Turkey is home to an Uighur community.

"Turkey, stand by your brothers," read a banner at the protest in Istanbul.

"We don't want a country like China, with a bad human rights record, to hold the Olympics, which symbolize humanity, peace and brotherhood," protester Hayrullah Efendigil said.

Police outnumbered the protesters and hemmed them in, making it difficult for them to move around freely. Some tourists photographed the group.

Some members of the Uighur expatriate community in Turkey have been militant in calling for independence for Xinjiang, or what they refer to as East Turkestan. In the late 1990s, the Chinese leadership exerted strong pressure on Turkey to silence and withdraw any government support for these advocates in an effort that was said to be largely successful.

[Kim Sung]

Dharamsala-based Tibetan Youth Congress held a press conference on March 25 and announced that it would start a torch rally for Independence of Tibet.

[Kim Sung]

British and French citizens protesting against Chinese oppression of Tibet. What is ironical is that Britain and France were the most notorious imperialist powers 100 hundred years ago which invaded China and exploited the Chinese people more barbarically than the Chinese now do against the Tibetans. Now the change of situations?



http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/internationa ... 80490.html

[phylo_roadking]

Ahem - London didn't do so bad on Sunday either! it was the best television I've watched in ages!

[Kim Sung]

Olympic Torch Goes Out, Briefly, in Paris

By KATRIN BENNHOLD and ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: April 8, 2008

PARIS — China dubbed its Olympic torch relay the “Journey of Harmony,” a 21-nation promotional tour for the most expensive Games the world has seen and for a host nation eager to showcase its rising wealth and diplomatic clout.

China has spent eight years and tens of billions of dollars preparing to host the Summer Games, which Beijing has envisioned as a kind of coming-of-age party to showcase its rapid growth. But the outbreak of violent unrest in Tibet and a continuing crackdown there by Chinese security forces has emboldened China’s critics, a diverse coalition of rights groups whose demands are often ignored in China and played down by Western leaders eager to promote Chinese trade and investment.

Passing through Paris under armed guard, the torch was extinguished several times, and police officers moved it aboard a bus to protect it as demonstrators swarmed the security detail. Chinese Olympic organizers abruptly canceled the last leg, as well as a stop at City Hall, where a banner proclaimed, “Paris Defends Human Rights Everywhere in the World.”

About 3,000 police officers — on foot, horseback, inline skates, motorcycles and even boats on the Seine — had been deployed in an attempt to prevent a repetition of scenes played out in London on Sunday, when the relay turned into a tumult of scuffles and dozens of arrests.



The torch ceremonies have focused attention on causes that have languished on the world’s back burner for decades. At the International Campaign for Tibet, telephones have rung continually with calls from news media outlets, politicians and people wanting to sign petitions and hold events, said Jan Willem den Besten, the Dutch campaign coordinator.

“What is most dramatic is to see how broad and deep the support has become,” Mr. den Besten said. “You almost have to feel sorry for the Chinese because it’s turned completely against the public image they wanted to present.”

In San Francisco, where the torch is to arrive on Wednesday, several protesters scaled the vertical suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge and unfurled two large banners reading, “One World, One Dream,” and “Free Tibet 08.” At least seven people were arrested.

At the same time, the city’s mayor, Gavin Newsom, was huddling with the police to consider last-minute changes to the torch’s route and new security measures, said Nathan Ballard, a city spokesman. “If adjustments to the route for safety reasons are necessary, then adjustments will be made,” said Mr. Ballard, who said the mayor had been in contact with American and Chinese officials and with protest groups.

Also on Monday, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton joined a small but growing number of leading political figures in the United States and Europe who have called for a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Games.

In Paris, at the Trocadéro, opposite the Eiffel Tower, human rights organizations like Amnesty International and press freedom groups like Reporters Without Borders protested side by side with representatives of a banned underground Chinese democracy party, Taiwan nationalists and proponents of independence for the Uighurs, a Muslim minority in western China.

“We all have the same problem,” Can Asgar, a leader of the Uighur diaspora in Munich, yelled into a microphone at the Trocadéro. “Freedom for Uighurs. Freedom for Tibet. We must fight together.”

The Eurostar train from London to Paris on Sunday evening carried a large contingent of advocates moving from one protest to the next, including Tibetan nuns who had been jailed in China for 12 years and Tibetan athletes who live in Switzerland and call themselves Team Tibet. Busloads of protesters arrived from Belgium and the Netherlands.

The range of China’s opponents was so thoroughly covered that it included a protest by Amnesty International on behalf of a blind Chinese human rights lawyer who is in prison in Beijing.

Paris became a scene of disarray. At least one protester came within a yard of the swarm of police officers and Chinese Olympic officials crowding around the torchbearer. On several occasions, officers tackled protesters. The police said about 20 people had been arrested.

Again and again, protesters interrupted the procession. On a street along the Seine, demonstrators forced officers to retreat with the torch onto a bus to continue along the route, the police said. Around the same time, the flame went out. The torch went out more than four times, according to the French Olympic Committee, as the police repeatedly moved it aboard the bus, including the final stretch between City Hall and the stadium that houses the French Olympic Committee’s offices.

In Beijing on Monday, a spokeswoman for the city’s Olympic organizing committee — speaking before the disruptions in France — vowed that the relay would continue on its international route. “The torch represents the Olympic spirit, and people welcome the torch,” said Wang Hui, the spokeswoman. “The general public is very angry at this sabotage by a few separatists.”

Meanwhile, the chairman of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, used a meeting of national Olympic committee representatives in Beijing on Monday to criticize the London protests, but also to call for a rapid and peaceful solution to the confrontations in Tibet. He rejected the idea of boycotting the Games.

“The torch relay has been targeted,” Mr. Rogge said in a speech to the Association of National Olympic Committees, according to Reuters. “The I.O.C. has expressed serious concerns and calls for rapid, peaceful resolution in Tibet.”

“Violence for whatever reason is not compatible with the values of the torch relay and the Olympic Games,” he said. “Some people have played with the idea of boycotts. As I speak today, there is no momentum for a general boycott.”

But after the meeting, the leader of the Norwegian Olympic Committee, Tove Paule, said in an interview that the torch relay should be reconsidered.

“The International Olympic Committee may have a bigger problem when the torch relay continues, if we get more of these demonstrations,” Ms. Paule was quoted as saying by NRK, the Norwegian public broadcaster, Reuters reported.

When the flame moves to San Francisco on Wednesday, it will be the sixth stop on its monthlong international tour.

Amnesty International and several other rights groups have pledged to rally along the route of the torch, which is scheduled to be run six miles along the city’s scenic waterfront. A heavy law enforcement presence is expected, with local police officers supplemented with officers from other California cities and state and federal agencies. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would also enact a low-altitude, no-flight zone over the route.

Ngodup Tsering, the president of Tibetan Association of Northern California, said he expected several thousand protesters to converge on San Francisco, which he hoped would not escalate into the type of scrum seen in Paris on Monday.

“We are trying to educate our people, to remind them that they are here to be nonviolent,” said Mr. Tsering, whose group is based in Berkeley, Calif. “We have to be prepared, and very calm and nonviolent.”

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsvi ... 8040751031

[Kim Sung]

Local law enforcement look through binoculars as three Demonstrators scaled the Golden Gate Bridge unfurling two banners in San Francisco, California, USA, 07 April 2008. The three climbers are members of Students for a Free Tibet and their action comes just two days before the Olympic torch is to make its San Francisco stop -- the only stop in North America -- en route to Beijing, where the Summer Olympics will be held in August. The banner read: "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 08," EPA/MONICA M. DAVEY

[Kim Sung]

A Chinese cartoon depicting the Beijing Olympic Games as a bloody festival



http://www.nakorean.com/news/articleVie ... idxno=6119

[Kim Sung]

This articles explains why the so-called western democratic countries are tight-lipped on China's bloody oppression of Tibet and its human rights violations. Until 2012, China will be the second strongest country in the world.

China could overtake Japan as Asia-Pacific's largest economy

Singapore - China could overtake Japan as the largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region and second-largest globally within the next five years, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said on Monday. Although Japan is currently the region's largest economy, Standard & Poor's predicted China will lead Asia-Pacific sovereigns in economic growth this year, followed by India.

Highlighting the key quantitative features and trends, credit analyst Yee Farn Phua forecast "regional growth dynamics to be less robust in 2008," with an unweighed average growth rate among 22 sovereigns of about 5 per cent compared with 5.8 per cent in 2007.

"A slowdown in the US economy and tight global credit conditions will hit the Asia-Pacific region but these concerns are partly mitigated by the expected stronger domestic demand and intraregional trade that should substantially counter the weaker US import demand," Yee said.

Inflation across the region is likely to remain high, the report noted. Driven by a demand-side oil shock, escalating food prices, and China's unwavering appetite for commodities, even countries such as Singapore with historical inflation rates of about 1 per cent are expected to tip the 5 per cent mark for the first time, the report said.

"Topping the league is once again Sri Lanka, which has the dubious honour of having the highest inflation among Asia-Pacific sovereigns for three years running," it noted.

On the fiscal front, "Sri Lanka overtook Japan as the biggest net debtor in the region in 2007," Phua said. The two "feature among the most indebted governments globally."

In terms of external positions, about half of the Asia-Pacific sovereigns have public and private sector assets greater than their total external debt including nonresident deposits, the report said.

[Kim Sung]

Yesterday, Shinko (新光) Research institute in Japan announced in a recent report that China can overtake Japan this year. Accoding to this report, if we assume Japan's GDP growth rate at 1% this year and China's at 17%, and if we set the exchange rate of Dollar-Yuan below 1:6.3 this year, China's nominal GDP would reach US$ 4,580,000,000,000 while Japan's nominal GDP stops at US$ 4,529,000,000,000. This report predicted that China would overtake Japan next year at the latest.

Goldman Sachs reports released in December 2005 predicted that China will exceed Germany in GDP at least until 2009, Japan until 2015, and USA until 2039. Actually, however, China already overtook Germany in 2007 and might overtake Japan in 2008 (more realistically in 2009). With the current pace, China will excel USA in the economic scale earlier than predicted, possibly before 2020.

See compare with the statistics made two years ago. The speed is amazing!


If China's per capita income reaches the current level of South Korea, its GDP will be 9 times higher than that of Japan and 3 times higher than that of USA. This shows why so-called western democratic countries can't help but to keep silent over China's oppression of Tibet. Do we have to prepare soon for Chinese Domination of the World and opening of the Sinocentric World? Western reaction to the Tibetan affairs might be a kind of precursor.

"Power is justice!" - A painful, but realistic lesson from the history of mankind

[Kim Sung]

US Olympic torch relay descends into farce

Chris Ayres in San Francisco

The Olympic flame’s procession through San Francisco drew world-wide ridicule when the torch-bearers ran only a few yards before disappearing into a warehouse, only to re-emerge on a bus half an hour later.

After furious clashes between Free Tibet protesters and pro-China demonstrators, the authorities seemed to panic and abruptly changed the route, cutting it by half and scrapping the closing ceremony.

What Chinese Olympic organisers have called a “Journey of Harmony” quickly became the mystery tour of the missing flame. By 1.20pm local time — 20 minutes after the scheduled start— even the TV news helicopters had lost track. Then the runners were glimpsed at last for a brief moment, only to vanish into a warehouse on Pier 48 seconds later.

Eventually the torch-bearers, flanked by their Chinese minders in blue shell-suits, got off the bus and posed for photographs before jogging down Van Ness Avenue, their destination unknown.

To add to the confusion American officers in blue track suits almost identical to their Chinese counterparts also made an appearance, mingling with the battle-hardened “flame-guards” from Beijing.

The city’s Mayor defended the decision to scrap the original route by citing security fears. “We assessed the situation and felt that we could not secure the torch and protect the protesters and supporters to the degree that we wished,” Gavin Newsom said.

“I think it’s cowardly. If they can’t run the torch through the city, it means that no one is supporting the games,” said Matt Helmenstine, 30, a teacher carrying a Tibetan flag.

Two hours before the Olympic flame began its undignified trek through the deserted streets and freeways of San Francisco, The Times witnessed the tension between pro-Tibet groups and Chinese demonstrations, some of whom had reportedly been bussed in by the Chinese Embassy.

One man, red faced, screaming and waving a “Free Tibet” flag, was hauled out of the crowd by black-uniformed police and thrown into the back of a riot van. The police were immediately surrounded by a chanting mob shouting, “Free him now! Free him now!”

The stand-off ended when a dozen more officers arrived, each one armed with what looked like long, thin black baseballs bats. Meanwhile, the proTibetans became distracted by a group of pro-Chinese demonstrators waving red flags. The two groups stood face-to-face, shouting their slogans at each other. It was later reported that an American man who challenged the Chinese, calling them communists, had been beaten up.

When San Francisco first agreed to host the Olympic torch on its way to the summer games in Beijing, no-one could have imagined such scenes. But since the torch began its world tour from Greece, outrage over China’s military crackdown in Tibet has sparked increasingly bitter protests.

In London and Paris, pro-Tibet groups tackled the runners and used fire-extinguishers to try to put out the flame. China’s heavy-set “flame minders” only aggravated matters.

The authorities in San Francisco faced a different problem: more than a third of the city’s residents claim some kind of Asian heritage. Many of them took to the streets in support of the Chinese Government — raising the spectre of violent confrontations.

By Tuesday night, the Mayor had cancelled all police leave and put in place a massive security plan for the 80 runners. Nevertheless, one runner, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, backed out because of fears over her safety.

On San Francisco’s 3rd Street, near the waterfront, not all the Tibetans were happy with the way the protests were turning out.

“We just want to let the world know that we’re an occupied country,” said Lobsang Tsering, 35, a Tibetan who works at the company in Salt Lake City that makes the Olympic medals. “We keep asking people to remember the Dalai Lama’s peaceful message. We don’t want violence and we don’t hate the Chinese. All we ask is for them to free our country. There were no Chinese there before the 1940s.”

Many of the Chinese, meanwhile, attacked what they called the US media’s distortion of the facts about Tibet. “Tibet is and always has been part of China,” said Chuxiang Li, a 32-year-old engineer from San Jose. “The Dalai Lama just tells lies. He says he doesn’t support violence but what we have is violence.”

Unmasked: Chinese guardians of Olympic torch
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 671368.ece

[Kim Sung]

Confrontation between two superpowers over Tibet? A verbal battle between a Chinese and an American in San Franscisco




http://news.mk.co.kr/outside/view.php?y ... g=&pos=rel

2008 Summer Olympics torch relay

[Paddy Keating]

No. Our leaders are all collaborating with Peking because they own much of Western debt, apart from a proportion bought by the Saudis. Yes, that's right, folks: our glorious leaders, their advisors, and our bankers, the same people who brought you Sub-Prime and the Six Trillion Dollar Hole, sold all our overdrafts, mortgages, refinance deals etcetera to the Chinese. It's the elephant-in-the-room, the truth that dare not speak its name. We are owned by China and the lesson was well and truly rubbed in during the progress of the Olympic flame, when we were treated to the sight of Chinese enforcement officers, aided and abetted by our police, in our cities, beating up our citizens and Tibetan refugees in our countries as guests.

Think on...

PK

[Kim Sung]

The opinion poll conducted Hong Kong's Apple's Daily shows that Hong Kong residents have a negative view on pro-Tibetan western activists trying to hamper the torch relay. According to this opinion poll, 55% of Hong Kong residents opposed to those activities hampering the torch relay. Only 11% of the respondents said that they understand such activities and 22% agreed to those activities.



http://home.atnext.com (in Cantonese)

[Kim Sung]

We are owned by China and the lesson was well and truly rubbed in during the progress of the Olympic flame

My impression is that the entire world is becoming China's hostage. Like a kind of blackhole, China abosorbs natural resources of the world which is getting more dependent on Chinese goods. Is colonization of the world by the New Chinese Empire progressing? I'd like to add that China occupied 29% of the world economy (almost the same level with today's USA in the world economy) even in 1840, when it was defeated by a much smaller enemy, Britain in a dirty war. Paradoxically, the current situation can be called a kind of return to normacy.

[Paddy Keating]

Yes, but with more and more Chinese workers becoming aware not just of Western wealth through television and the internet but of the new Chinese super-rich in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dalian, Beijing and other commercial centres, the Chinese authorities are going to find themselves trying to keep the lid on increasing resentment over low wages, atrocious working conditions and general exploitation of the Chinese people by their rulers. With any luck, this will lead eventually to de facto civil war, resulting in a much-needed culling of the population and the disintegration or Balkanisation of China. China will then cease to be a major threat to the West. India is more of a problem. Perhaps we need to encourage Islamic troublemaking there, to keep them occupied. None of this, however, addresses a more pressing problem, that of food shortages and rising prices as a result of Third World countries becoming richer and, naturally, eating more. If we Westerners are to continue enjoying an acceptable standard of living, we must work to promote pestilence, famine and total social disfunction in Asia. There again, why bother? Are Westerners worth saving? Bonaparte tried. Hitler tried. Both futile exercises. Maybe those of us who are still sufficiently slim to fit in airliner seats and sufficiently educated to negotiate the purchase of tickets should all move to Canada or Siberia where there is little of interest to humanoid locusts, except, perhaps, water...

Mind you, I am a bit jaded...

PK