Bao Tong: On Beijing’s decision to talk to the Dalai Lama

On the decision by central government to have contact and discussions with the Dalai Lama
by Bao Tong
In the face of a major social upheaval, there are generally two roads to take. One is dialogue, and the other is opposition. Dialogue can lead to reconciliation, whereas opposition inevitably results in an exacerbation [...]

China: Qin Yongmin’s wife calls for medical parole

From RFA’s Cantonese service:
I am Qin Yongmin’s ex-wife. My name is Li Jingfang. My hope is that the authorities will show some leniency, understanding and generosity to those in prison at this time, with the approach of the Olympic Games. I really hope that Qin Yongmin will be released from jail [...]

China, Tibet: Patriotism planned at Potala Palace torch rally

From RFA’s Cantonese service. Reporter: Hai Nan. Translated by Shiny Li and Luisetta Mudie:
Authorities in Tibet are planning a mass rally of Han Chinese government supporters to support the arrival of the Olympic torch in Tibet’s iconic Potala Palace, former home of the exiled Dalai Lama.
Travel agencies in the Tibetan capital [...]

China: Patriotism flares, government picks up fire-hoses

Professor Guo Quan of Nanjing Normal University told Mandarin reporter Ding Xiao that student counselors have been told to pay attention to students’ movements, and to make sure they are not going to stage public demonstrations:
All the student counselors have been told to ‘manage student sentiment’ and to learn what students [...]

China, Tibet: Interview with Grace Wang

A Chinese student at Duke University in North Carolina who wrote “Free Tibet” on the back of an anti-Chinese protester during an attempt to mediate a campus dispute over Tibet is now hated by former classmates and teachers alike, a former teacher said.

China, Tibet: Updates from Qinghai and Sichuan

From Mandarin service reporter Shen Hua:
There were Tibetan protests in Heka Township in Xinghai County of Qinghai Province on March 25. Around 15 or 16 participants have been detained, including some who surrendered themselves to police.
Gesang Jianzan, a member of the Tibetan Government in Exile told RFA that “As far as I know, around a [...]

China, Tibet: Interview with a Qinghai Tibetan youth

From RFA Mandarin service reporter Ding Xiao in Hong Kong. Translated by Chen Ping.
After the Tibet riots, the communications of Tibetans living in China are under surveillance, and they don’t dare to express their views for fear of retribution for the authorities, as talking to foreign media might get them punished. However, a Tibetan youth [...]

Tibet: Lhasa witnesses analyze the protests

I thought that this [the uprising] was the right thing to do. I participated in the protests and was among the protesters in the area of Ramoche monastery for about two hours. I knew that the protests were expressions of Tibetan despair over Chinese oppression in our own country. The actual suppression and crackdown by [...]

Video: Chinese remember Zhao Ziyang on Qing Ming

From RFA’s Cantonese service. Here is the script of a voice-over I wrote explaining what is going on in the video. I will post the English version if/when it appears on YouTube; until then…
One by one, people file quietly into the home of Zhao Ziyang, the late former Communist Party leader [...]

Sichuan: Troops ‘will stay until after the Olympics’

From RFA’s Mandarin service.
A woman from Karze (in Chinese, Ganzi) county in the southwestern province of Sichuan, who has spoken to RFA before, indirectly indicated to Mandarin reporter Qiao Long that troops are still stationed in the area:
“Tibetans here won’t be able to stage any protest,” she said. “The death from last week’s protest, occurred [...]