Tibet - A Call For Action from The Campaign Site Avaaz

The Beijing Olympics are a crucial chance to persuade China's leaders to support dialogue and human rights in Tibet, as well as Burma and Darfur, and we need to seize it.

China wants the Olympics to be a coming out party for a newly modern, powerful, and respectable nation. But the Olympics are about humanity and excellence--we can't celebrate them in good conscience while ignoring the suffering of Tibetans and others.

So Avaaz is launching a major new campaign: SAVE THE OLYMPICS. We'll ask China to save the Olympics for all of us, by making specific, reasonable progress in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, securing release of Burmese and Tibetan political prisoners, and supporting peacekeeping in Darfur.

Our appeal will be placed on billboards and ads in major cities, in Chinese overseas publications, and we'll hire a Chinese language team to engage directly on China's lively blogs and in chatrooms. We need 10,000 donations from people from 100 countries to kickstart the campaign this week with a truly global sponsorship--click below to see the ads and donate whatever you can, however small:

https://secure.avaaz....

Within China, where the Olympics were once seen as a victory for greater openness and internationalism, the internal debate has taken a bitter turn. Most Chinese are now growing angry over Olympic activism, seeing it as biased and "anti-Chinese."

If the games are a fiasco, China's repressive hardliners will win the day--and we could see the worst crackdown yet.

We need to stop this, and fast. So our campaign aims to reach out to China and Chinese people to show that we're not anti-China but pro-humanitarian, and that our desire is to save the 2008 Olympics, not ruin them. Click below to donate now:

https://secure.avaaz....

The Slogan of the 2008 Olympics is "One World, One Dream". Let's reach across barriers of perception and division, and ask the Chinese to make this dream come true for us this summer.

I already support petitions from Avaaz. Although I must say I am underwhlemed by international sporting events. For me its too nationalistic, too tied up with dubious sponsorships and making money and as things stand a huge diversion of time, money and energy which we cant afford. There are higher priorities - like world poverty and starvation just to mention a few. The original games in Greece were dedicated to the gods.

The Beijing Olympics are a crucial chance to persuade China's leaders to support dialogue and human rights in Tibet, as well as Burma and Darfur, and we need to seize it.

China wants the Olympics to be a coming out party for a newly modern, powerful, and respectable nation. But the Olympics are about humanity and excellence--we can't celebrate them in good conscience while ignoring the suffering of Tibetans and others.

So Avaaz is launching a major new campaign: SAVE THE OLYMPICS. We'll ask China to save the Olympics for all of us, by making specific, reasonable progress in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, securing release of Burmese and Tibetan political prisoners, and supporting peacekeeping in Darfur.

Our appeal will be placed on billboards and ads in major cities, in Chinese overseas publications, and we'll hire a Chinese language team to engage directly on China's lively blogs and in chatrooms. We need 10,000 donations from people from 100 countries to kickstart the campaign this week with a truly global sponsorship--click below to see the ads and donate whatever you can, however small:

https://secure.avaaz....

Within China, where the Olympics were once seen as a victory for greater openness and internationalism, the internal debate has taken a bitter turn. Most Chinese are now growing angry over Olympic activism, seeing it as biased and "anti-Chinese."

If the games are a fiasco, China's repressive hardliners will win the day--and we could see the worst crackdown yet.

We need to stop this, and fast. So our campaign aims to reach out to China and Chinese people to show that we're not anti-China but pro-humanitarian, and that our desire is to save the 2008 Olympics, not ruin them. Click below to donate now:

https://secure.avaaz....

The Slogan of the 2008 Olympics is "One World, One Dream". Let's reach across barriers of perception and division, and ask the Chinese to make this dream come true for us this summer.

I think many Chinese blogers are working for the Chinese government. One problemis in China people can only read what the Chinese goverment want them to read and if they critise the government is can lead to imprisonment , torture, slavery, etc.
I don't know that the Olympics have ever been about humanity, more like corporate sponsorship, and political promotion. As has been pointed out the Olympic torch was the creation of Hitler.

I am very pleased to have bee part of disrupting the torch in London. I hope the game in are disrupted by protest.

John,

This is a purely groundless argument.
How much do you know about China? How many Chinese people have you ever met and talked to? How much evidence do you have by saying this?

Your words only reinforce your ignorance, irrationality and irresponsibility! Chinese people know much better than you do on how to develop their country.

John,

This is a purely groundless argument.
How much do you know about China? How many Chinese people have you ever met and talked to? How much evidence do you have by saying this?

Your words only reinforce your ignorance, irrationality and irresponsibility! Chinese people know much better than you do on how to develop their country.

Tibet is not part of China. It is Currently occupied by China. Any dissent can result in torture and execution.
For example it is illegal for a Tibetan to have an image of the Dali Lama on their person, illegal for a Tibetan to say ?bring back the Dali Lama? and illegal for a Tibetan to say they want a free Tibet. It happened recently. A Tibetan nomad was sentenced to eight years in prison calling for a free Tibet.
I recently went to see a talk given a Tibetan nun. Aged 19 she had been prison for calling the return of the Dalia Lama. She was tortured everyday just for that. She was released only because her case received world wide coverage.

[In China itself, people are not allowed to publicly protest, they are not allowed to stand in elections against the government. There is only one party, the communist part. News is censored and so is the Internet. Western companies such as Yahoo and Google actually aid China in this.
In China people are taught that Tibet is part of China, and that it was liberated by China.

Recently in China a human rights activist was arrested for saying that human rights were more important than the Olympic games.

There was another case of a lawyer, can?t remember his name who was imprisoned for defending women in forced abortions cases.
There are many such cases. In China human rights mean nothing .

I am proud to have been part of the protest in London put the spotlight in Tibet, that turned the tables on the Chinese governments attempts to use the game to promote itself as a modern state and forget about Tibet etc.

I hope the games are disrupted




This is a purely groundless argument.
How much do you know about China? How many Chinese people have you ever met and talked to? How much evidence do you have by saying this?

Your words only reinforce your ignorance, irrationality and irresponsibility! Chinese people know much better than you do on how to develop their country.

I do support this campagn. I hope my responses did not give the impression that I did not. But China is very repressive.

The Beijing Olympics are a crucial chance to persuade China's leaders to support dialogue and human rights in Tibet, as well as Burma and Darfur, and we need to seize it.

China wants the Olympics to be a coming out party for a newly modern, powerful, and respectable nation. But the Olympics are about humanity and excellence--we can't celebrate them in good conscience while ignoring the suffering of Tibetans and others.

So Avaaz is launching a major new campaign: SAVE THE OLYMPICS. We'll ask China to save the Olympics for all of us, by making specific, reasonable progress in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, securing release of Burmese and Tibetan political prisoners, and supporting peacekeeping in Darfur.

Our appeal will be placed on billboards and ads in major cities, in Chinese overseas publications, and we'll hire a Chinese language team to engage directly on China's lively blogs and in chatrooms. We need 10,000 donations from people from 100 countries to kickstart the campaign this week with a truly global sponsorship--click below to see the ads and donate whatever you can, however small:

https://secure.avaaz....

Within China, where the Olympics were once seen as a victory for greater openness and internationalism, the internal debate has taken a bitter turn. Most Chinese are now growing angry over Olympic activism, seeing it as biased and "anti-Chinese."

If the games are a fiasco, China's repressive hardliners will win the day--and we could see the worst crackdown yet.

We need to stop this, and fast. So our campaign aims to reach out to China and Chinese people to show that we're not anti-China but pro-humanitarian, and that our desire is to save the 2008 Olympics, not ruin them. Click below to donate now:

https://secure.avaaz....

The Slogan of the 2008 Olympics is "One World, One Dream". Let's reach across barriers of perception and division, and ask the Chinese to make this dream come true for us this summer.

John,

It looks like that all information you possess comes from second-hand resources -- you went to a talk, you cannot even remember the lawyer's name.... which means you did not see, you did not experience by yourself -- how can you judge the many by only knowing a few, particularly by second-hand sources. So, what makes you feel a second hand source credible?
Tibet is part of China. You cannot go to Tibet without having a visa issued by the Chinese embassy. Simple as that. No country in the world acknowledges Tibet is an independent country.
China has many problems -- human rights, pollutions, rich-poor gap, but Chinese government acknowledges these problems and it is working in the right direction.
In fact, there were more human rights problems and the country was much poorer 15-20 years ago. Where were you then? If you do care about China and Chinese people, including Tibetans and others, you perhaps can choose to donate some money to poor students there instead of disrupting the torch relay. I see no value in grabbing an Olympic torch. It's purely counterproductive and destructive. It benefits nobody!

Tibet is not part of China it is occupied by China who invaded Tibet in the 1950s. Any dissent can result in beatings, torture and murder. I have spoken to Tibetan exiles who confirm this. Even if Tibet was part of China, torture can?t be justified. Its right that I can?t remember the lawyers name but I could always look it up. I was responding to a point so was drawing on my memory. I am sure you will understand that in my everyday life I don?t have fact about Tibet and China at my fingertips .

Yes, I heard the Nuns at a talk but that does not make what they say any less valid. I believe them. Why on earth should it be an offence to for someone in Tibet to say they want a Free Tibet? Why should it be an offence for someone to have an image of the Dalai Lama or to say they want the Dalai Lama back?

The compromise which as I understand it many will accept, is for Tibetans to have autonomy within Tibet to live according to their culture without interference.

My information comes from Amnesty International, Free Tibet Campaign, Tibet Watch, Jubilee Action, Human Right Watch, British Government etc.

I have never been to the North Pole but I know its cold.

John,

This is a purely groundless argument.
How much do you know about China? How many Chinese people have you ever met and talked to? How much evidence do you have by saying this?

Your words only reinforce your ignorance, irrationality and irresponsibility! Chinese people know much better than you do on how to develop their country.

Pot, kettle, black.

You proving there is no real point in trying to debate with Chinese bloggers over Tibet.

Any dissent can result in being sent to inprisonment. Most Chinese people do not have free access to the Internet.

I have meet many Tibetain in exile and they all say the same thing, Tibet is not part of China and they want China out. The recaction to the recent uprising in tibet confirms there is no freedom in Tibet.