Chinese students break window in protest of Tibetan flag display
London UK, March 26 – What price freedom of expression? In an extraordinary echo of the repressive stance taken by the Chinese authorities in Tibet, The Natural Bed Company in Sheffield had its window smashed by Chinese students for displaying a Tibetan flag. The Natural Bed Company, a long term supporter of Tibet, last week displayed a Tibetan flag in its Sheffield showroom window in solidarity with the Tibetan people in Tibet who are currently suffering brutal and continued crackdowns by the police and army that has resulted in the death of over 100 people, with many further casualties.
Owner, Peter Bennion said, “On Thursday two Chinese students came to the shop complaining the flag offended them and if we didn’t take it down they would come back the following day to tear it down themselves. They didn’t wait that long; they came back at night and photographed themselves breaking the window”.
The police have been called and hope to identify the students from closed circuit TV. However, this is not an isolated act, as other Chinese students have also been targeting the shop. Peter Bennion continued “We might have liked to think that it was the work of one or two students, but sadly other Chinese students have been coming down the road to photo the broken window and make aggressive gestures. I think they’ve proved the point about their own intolerance. Clearly we can’t afford to have our windows broken but we don’t want to let them intimidate here the way they do in Tibet. We’ve invited the Chinese students’ society at the University to a dialogue but we’ve had no response. It’s sad to think they’re so insecure that they can be so easily offended and so arrogant that they can come to this country and not be able to cherish the freedom of expression that we have. They appear to have come here for a degree but not for education. In Sheffield we welcome students from all over the world but this is bad publicity for Chinese students”.
Philippa Carrick of the Tibet Society added “It is very sad to hear of this kind of behaviour. In a small way, this act exemplifies the difficulties faced in trying to encourage the Chinese government to lay aside their prejudices and open a meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama for a just solution. Closed minds and kneejerk reactions do not further the process of finding common ground to negotiate a fair settlement for the Tibetan people.”
