The recent visit by Chinese President Jiang Zemin to Christchurch,
presented a fantastic opportunity for the city. Christchurch had the
chance to convey many messages to China - and the main message being
sent was of course 'trade with us (we could do with the business).'
Yet at the state dinner held in Jiang's honour on the night of his arrival
in Christchurch protesters were doing their best to redress the balance in
the city's pro-China stance. The purpose of the protest was simple: to send
the message to China, and our own politicians, that human rights issues
(and in particular, the position China has taken with Tibet) must be an
essential part of any international trade talks. Trade and human rights
are inseparable.
In 1949 China invaded Tibet. For the past 50 years, the Dalai Lama
and the Tibetan people have embarked on a non-violent struggle to free
Tibet from its oppressors. The non-violent approach by the Tibetans has
drawn praise (the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989),
yet at the same time has also resulted in the international community
ignoring Tibet's call for recognition.
Although the Chinese Government say Tibet is better off now than they were
before the invasion, the Tibetans tell a different story. It is estimated
that over a million Tibetans have died as a direct result of Chinese
occupation of Tibet. Over six thousand monasteries and temples looted
and destroyed. A quarter of China's nuclear missiles are stationed in Tibet
and China is using Tibet as a dumping ground for nuclear waste. Some 4,000
Tibetan political prisoners are being held and 175,000 Tibetans are forced
to live in exile.
Two groups, Friends of Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet, held a joint
demonstration attended by about 150 people to remind those attending the
state dinner that an 'at any cost' approach to trading with China is
irresponsible and naive in today's global community.
Mindful of the Tibetan approach, we ensured our protest was lawful and
non-violent. We were given a designated area by the police within which
we were to protest, and we were told that as long as we didn't cross over
the barricades which had been placed, then the police would respect our
right to protest.
The protest gained momentum - banners and Tibetan flags flew, drumming
and chanting sent our message to the dinner guests who were awaiting Jiang.
We received word that Jiang refused to attend the dinner while we were
there. The 'second most important man in the world' was hiding away in
his hotel room because he couldn't bring himself to see a Tibetan flag!
To us this seemed incredible.
We knew that Jiang refuses to acknowledge the human rights abuses
which his government are responsible for, refuses to even discuss
with the Dalai Lama the situation in Tibet unless ridiculous (and
impossible to agree to) conditions are imposed. We knew he felt
'uncomfortable' when confronted with certain harsh realities about
Tibet, but we didn't expect the kind of reaction which we did receive.
Any world leader with nothing to be ashamed of would have just
acknowledged (or ignored) the protest, then carried on with the
dinner function as planned. But by keeping guests waiting for an
hour and a half, Jiang really brought attention to the fact that
China is incapable of acknowledging and addressing issues fundamental
to the rest of the world - namely, human rights. What a vivid
illustration we were shown that night.
By 9.00pm, the word had obviously been given to the police to remove us.
They crossed over the barricades to the protesters side, then continued
to push us back down the street. While this was being done buses were
parked in front of us to block any view of us, and police sirens were
turned on to drown out any sound from us. Under these conditions
Jiang was ushered in to the building. The police action taken that
night has been widely condemned. The rights of New Zealanders to
peacefully protest were removed purely to appease China.
Yet, although we are unhappy with how the situation was handled by police,
we don't want to the attention to turn away from the Tibet issue, to
the police issue. There is an important message which needs to reach
the ears of our politicians: New Zealanders DO care about who our
trading partners are. We want to be proud of a government who has
enough responsibility and moral backbone to say to China 'let's
talk human rights' - 'Let's talk Tibet'.
For further information about Tibet visit:
www.friends-of-tibet.org.nz
