By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, OCT 1: Tibetans, Uyghurs, Southern Mongolians, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Chinese people staged protests in over 50 cities across 25 countries on Thursday, campaigning against human rights abuses by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the last 7 decades. Digital and onsite protests at Chinese embassies and other PRC representatives are currently underway on the ‘Global Day of Action’ as China celebrated its National Day in Beijing as well.
Tibetan activist groups in Dharamshala marked the day with condemning China’s rule and urged the international community to call on “governments to implement targeted sanctions against China, and to hold Beijing responsible for its egregious human rights abuses.” The five Dharamshala based NGOs called for action against the PRC’s expansionist policy and urged International Olympic Committee (IOC) to replace China as a host country for the 2022 Winter Olympics as a result.
Activists from different persecuted groups in London also participated in the ‘Resist China’ campaign with night time projection onto the Parliament building with messages from Tibetan, Uyghur, and Hong Kong representatives detailing human rights abuses their people face under Chinese occupation. The projection broadcasted messages such as “China Fails Freedom” and “Free Tibet, Free the Uyghurs, Free Hong Kong” onto the building, urging the UK government to be firmer in its opposition to the CCP.
Various Regional Tibetan Youth Organisations in different places including the US, Europe and Asia also conducted protests in coordination with numerous grassroots activist groups. Online activism surged in the last week to mark the anniversary as organizations planned to demonstrate collectively. International Tibet Network (ITN), Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), Free Tibet, World Uyghur Congress, The Hong Kongers, and other support groups spearheaded the campaign to hold the regime accountable.
China held a flag-raising ceremony to mark the anniversary at Tiananmen Square, Beijing on Thursday. CCP leadership held a grand reception in the presence of President Xi Jinping as it applauded the country’s response to the COVID crisis and urged officials to promote the ‘One Country, Two Systems’. The formal address reasserted officials to “firmly oppose and deter any Taiwanese separatist activities” according to the state-backed media CTGN.
The resistchina.org maps the ongoing protests across the globe and also lists the key issues concerning human rights abuses in places under the purview of PRC. The website urges governments to “build strong multilateral action to effectively challenge the CCP totalitarian regime.” As of now, the website has live-streamed protests from NY, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Athens, Mexico, Sweden, Milan, Bristol, HK, Istanbul, Dharamshala, Taipei, Brisbane, Sydney and London.
2 Responses
All democratic nations need to stand up to China, not just for human rights in China, Tibet, East Turkestan & Hong Kong, but also because the Chinese Govt is a direct threat to democracy & freedom around the world. If you do business w/ China but ignore their human rights violations, then you are morally bankrupt. China needs the world more than the world needs China. We were able to end apartheid in South Africa through direct economic action & we can do the same in China.
Rep. Scott Gordon Perry made a speech at Capitol Hill criticizing China’s myriad human rights abuses. Talks about introducing a Bill to designate the CCP as a Transnational Organized Crime Group akin to the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). I found the slew of Tibetan flags fluttering behind Rep. Scott aesthetically pleasing. The gorgeous Capitol Hill background with its Roman architectural style didn’t hurt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cme0hA9s-YI