We recently returned from a 15 day trip to Beijing for this summer’s Olympic Games and what some would call China’s “coming out as a global super power” party. Though we were not able to attend any of the official events, we had a very positive experience with Beijing citizens- their hospitality and generosity welcomed us at every corner. Every enthusiastic family we’d meet would exclaim in English “Welcome to Beijing!”.
Our mission was to document actions by Students for a Free Tibet protesting China’s almost 60 year occupation of Tibet. Using a small HD camera and a laptop, we were able to grab high quality video and photos, upload to a secure ftp server and get the media out to the world.
As independent media makers with no established credentials, it was a frightening task to attend an action, document it properly and not get arrested for just being there. We had no hand in the physical actions themselves, we were there only to document- much like The Associated Press photographers and British ITV reporter John Ray who, incidentally, got pushed around, questioned and media confiscated. These incidents made it clear that the cooperation of independent folks, videobloggers, photographers, etc with corporate media outlets was essential. Anyone with a camera, voice recorder or a pen was equally threatening in the eyes of the Chinese government.
In a country so locked down on free speech, we had to often speak in hushed tones and not even mention the word ‘Tibet’ in public for fear of arrest. The Tibetan flag is completely illegal and cannot be shown in all of China. Several of our fellow media makers, in town for the same reasons, were not so lucky and got arrested and detained for 7 days after being followed by plainclothes police for several days. We are happy that they have all returned home safe.
Reflecting on our trip to Beijing we have a more clear understanding that this is not just about the Free Tibet movement, this is about basic human rights in Tibet, China and the rest of the world. Tibetans can’t speak out about what is happening in their country. Chinese can’t speak out about what is happening in their country. If they do, they face harsh, life threatening consequences. Some might argue that this is the only thing these two cultures have in common, but we believe it will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and the tiny spark that ignites decades of dissent from all corners of China. The protests by Students for a Free Tibet demonstrated to the world that China, with it’s oppressive treatment of their people and the people of Tibet, cannot rise to the level of global super power without facing the consequences of their actions.
For more info on China’s occupation of Tibet and how you can get involved, check out Students for a Free Tibet. Check out this wrap up article on the CCTV Banner Hang in The Washington Post and an Op-Ed about China’s use of the Olympics to lie about human rights. Also we got interviewed by Xeni on Boing Boing TV.
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