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 said they had received approval from the ruling Communist Party’s Youth League to organize a “patriotic activity” on the arrival of the torch at the palace, formerly the heart of Tibetan Buddhism.

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 are going to do, and to make sure that students don’t go out to demonstrate.

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 thousand Tibetans took part in the protests, including monks and laymen. They carried banners such as ‘There is no freedom in Tibet!’ ‘Let Dalai Lama home!’” “Several dozens have been arrested, including several people of whom I know their names.”

Mr. Zhang in Heka Township told RFA that “I heard several dozens of Tibetan demonstrated on March 25. They were carrying white flags at the demonstration.” He said “Now the local situation is stable.” The white flags are in fact banners with slogans.

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 who lives in the Mgo Log (in Chinese, Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in the northwestern province of Qinghai, told us some of his thoughts on the recent unrest:

Tibetan: Recently the tensions have been subsided pretty much, and we can cross into neighboring province. For example, we can travel to Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province with an ID of any kind. However, soldiers are currently going around temples, several in a group, always.

RFA: Any reduction of security forces?

Tibetan: No, it is still the same. Probably they will withdraw after September. We inevitably feel oppressed as troops are everywhere and we cannot go out easily.

RFA: Do you Tibetans discuss the current situation?

Tibetan: Normally we don’t talk about it. There was never any freedom of speech in China in the first place.

China, Tibet: Paris protests

“No torch in Tibet!” reads the banner suspended from this Parisian bridge by protesters during the march of the Olympic torch, which makes its way to Beijing this summer.

Photo: Students for a Free Tibet photostream on Flickr.

Tibet: Robbie Barnett on the recent unrest

Comments by Robbie Barnett, Tibet expert at Columbia University, March 27, 2008, regarding the recent major protests in Tibetan-populated rural areas, especially the temporary takeovers of government buildings and taking down of Chinese flags and raising of Tibetan flags:

Tibet: Comments from RFA listeners

From a Hunan man on the RFA Mandarin call-in program Listener Hotline, March 27:

The Tibet issue is analogous to forcing a woman to marry a man. The man may give the woman food, clothing, and shelter, but material things cannot replace spiritual values. She is a human being. The Dalai Lama is the rightful leader of the Tibetan people. He is like a parent to them, and yet the Chinese government vilifies him and kicked him out of his own home. Stability based on force cannot last.

China: RFA listener comments on Tibet

“Could it be possible that Tibetans cannot accept the fact that their tradition and customs have been so radically changed by the Han?” –Inner Mongolian man on RFA-Mandarin call-in program Listener Hotline, March 26, 2008

“How sad it was to listen to the Tibetans chanting their prayers. It was such a peaceful demonstration here in Brussels. I cried, wondering if God listens to their prayers.” –A Vietnamese woman living in Brussels, Belgium, speaking with RFA Vietnamese service, March 26, 2008

Tibet: Monks protest in Qinghai

Right now, we are protesting in the area of Tsolho. We are demanding that the Chinese leadership open a dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and peacefully resolve the Tibetan issue. We are also demanding that His Holiness be allowed to visit Tibet. Our protest is peaceful and involves about 10-15 monks from Serlho monastery in the Tsolho (in Chinese, Hainan) prefecture. Just now we are marching toward the subdistrict headquarters, and from there we plan to go to the county government. Hundreds of local Tibetans, mainly nomads, have joined us …

Newsdesk: Tibetan blogger Woeser under house arrest

Tibetan writer Woeser’s husband, Wang Lixiong, who is an ethnic Han Chinese, told Mandarin reporter Ding Xiao that Woeser has been confined to their home in Beijing since March 10, the 49^th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising.

It was ‘inconvenient’ for Woeser to speak to RFA, a phrase often used to denote a fear of reprisal from the Chinese authorities.

Wang Lixiong said: “She has been under house arrest since March 10. Her movements are restricted, as are mine. In the past, I was their main target. But now she has become part of the target. Whatever movement we plan to make, we must first ask for approval. Only when it’s approved by higher-up can we make a move under surveillance.”