True report of torch relay in Japan
Overview of the event is from 2ch BBS.
'Flame for peace' for what, for who?
April 26th- The Beijing Olympic torch relay in Japan- More than 3000 police officers were brought in to guard the event. The route was lined with thousands of Chinese red flags, and hundreds of Tibetan flags. The (Japanese) public were not allowed to attend at the opening ceremony, and the event for so-called ' Peaceful ceremony' was carried without citizens.
'Free Tibet', 'Go Go china' - The chants were mixed from two rival groups. The signs appealing Tibet issue was held in the city and two protesters who tried to seize the torch were arrested during the torch was carried by a comedian Kinnich Hagimoto and the Olympic athlete Ai Fukuhara. Nagano, which is known as the Buddhism temple Zenkoji, met a tension.
(Hideki Hayashi, Shingo Nagahara)
As the relay passed by less crowded area than Nagano station or Zenkoji site, a man with Tibetan flag threw himself to the relay from the street, chanting 'Free Tibet'. The police officers overpowered him and held his face against the ground, but he kept crying out 'Free Tibet'.
His name is Tashi Tsering (38), a second-generation Tibetan Taiwanese and an owner of antique store. He was protesting at a different place in the morning and told a reporter that he was not against the Beijing Olympic, but he found the Olympic a good chance to tell the world about the disasters in Tibet.
The parents of Mr. Tashi exiled to India in 1959 after the Chinese invasion of Tibet and Mr. Tashi was born in India. He did not experience the invasion himself, but has been storing the fierce memory of his father.
During the conflict, Mr. Tashi's father was detained by Chinese public security authorities for a political reason and sentenced to death. However, he succeeded to escape through a small window to a cliff below on the previous day of execution. Mr. Tashi's parents and his then-7-year-old brother made a harrowing escape and got to India over the Himalayas after 2 weeks.
'My parents wised earnestly for Tibetan Independence. I am ready to sacrifice the rest of my life to realize it.' said he.
'As exiled Tibetan, I was always feeling like a homeless in India, without a sense of belongings' He recalled. But Dalai Lama's words made him have different views. 'Tibet belongs to Tibetans. By peaceful protests, I want to claim back Tibetans' freedom.' said he.
Mr. Tashi arrived at Nagano in the 25th night. He had joined the protest at the torch relay in Thailand. He was surprised to see there were more Tibetan supporters in Japan than in Thailand, and expressed his appreciation to the Japanese supporters.
Some protesters demonstrated quietly. Mr. Tsering (34) , a second-generation Tibetan Japanese from Nagoya and a representative of SFT Japan protested with a sign saying 'Freedom for Tibet, Human rights for Tibetans'.
'We are not going to mess the torch relay. We want to tell Chinese government to remember the Olympic spirit and send it a clear message that the people in every part of China should have a freedom of speech.' said he.
SFT Japan had been negotiating the protest plan with Nagano city beforehand, but the protest was surrounded by Chinese crowd chanting 'One China!', drowning out the SFT protest appeals.
Chinese populations outnumbers Tibetan populations in Tibetan capital Lhasa, and today the Tibetan children speak Chinese. Tibetans are expressing their anxiety that their culture and religion is facing a danger of extinct.
The exiled Tibetans protested in 3 different groups in Nagano. 'I have family in Tibet and they are undergoing interrogation by Chinese public security. To be honest, I'm scared to expose my face in the protest' said a Tibetan Chinese man.
最終更新：2008年05月02日 02:15
