From: trinley@churchward.com (Jack Churchward)
Subject: CACCP Weekly 7/6/97 part 2 of 2
d. Argument erupts at Bhadko lecture: Chinese graduate students denouce refugee monk as 'liar'
Monday, May 5, 1997
Section: News, page 1
Word Count: 836
Argument erupts at Bhadko lecture: Chinese graduate students denouce refugee monk as 'liar'
by: James M. Hunnicutt, Senior Editor
Approximately 175 people experienced an emotional hurricane last Friday night during a contentious lecture delivered by Bhadko, a Buddhist monk who escaped from Tibet.
Bhadko gave his lecture on the political atmosphere of Tibet, where he said Chinese police arrested and tortured him for political demonstration in 1988. Bhadko's depressing tale caused him, and several members of the audience, to openly weep, bringing an end to his speech. A number of Chinese graduate students then stood before the room and denounced Bhadko as a liar and defended their home country.
Nima Taylor '00 - a founding member and co-head of Dartmouth's Students for a Free Tibet and a student of Tibetan descent - introduced Bhadko as an activist for freedom and provided some history for the audience: "Tibet was invaded by China in 1949, and since then 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of Chinese policy in Tibet." He said this number is a combination of political killings and deaths by starvation due to mismanagement of food stores.
Taylor and Middlebury sophomore Tenzin Dolkar translated for Bhadko, who spoke for about an hour and 15 minutes.
Bhadko said China has destroyed 6,000 monasteries and has been trying to eradicate Tibetan culture, but the Communist government allows several monasteries to remain active to bring in tourist revenues. Bhadko said he became angry with the condition of Tibet and resented the Chinese occupation.
In early 1988, Bhadko participated in a peaceful demonstration in Lhasa, which Chinese soldiers violently dispersed; the soldiers shot into the crowd then arrested several of the activists, he said.
Bhadko then went into excruciating detail about the horrors he claims he faced while undergoing 10 months of torture and interrogation.
He said he was given several forms to read over while composing a forced confession. These official documents listed names of prisoners and details of the interrogations. Bhadko hid the forms and when asked about their whereabouts, claimed he lost them.
After three years, the government released him from prison in 1991, he said. Bhadko escaped from Tibet and fled through Nepal into India. He carried the documents with him, and has since shared them with the Dalai Lama and sent copies to the governments of western nations. Friday night he had the tattered sheets on hand to show the audience.
Taylor said, "These documents are hard evidence proving that, contrary to the Chinese government's claims, there are political prisoners in Tibet, and torture does occur."
After Bhadko spoke, he broke into tears. He covered his face and wept, as did several audience members.
Taylor called for an end to the lecture and invited people to join the reception following. Then, he asked if anyone had any questions or comments.
Hongjun Xiang, a Chinese graduate student, said into the microphone, regarding Bhadko, "I think he is a liar."
Hongjun defended China and implored people in the audience to get the facts themselves. He was supported by several other Chinese students, but the vast majority of the room angrily bristled as he spoke. Many audience members laughed at what he had to say and a handful shouted.
Ming Guo, an engineering student, said, "There was never an invasion of Tibet. Tibet has been a Chinese province since the 16th century."
Quickly drying his tears, Bhadko grabbed the microphone and responded by saying, "If it was a part of China, then why did 1.2 million Tibetans have to die?"
Trying to mediate, Taylor reiterated an earlier point of Bhadko's: that he does not denounce China or the Chinese people, merely its Communist government. But the contingent of Chinese students continued to denounce Bhadko and stand up for their government.
Zhaohui Zhang, another graduate student, said, "I feel it is a grievous accusation on China tonight." Zhang challenged the audience for "blindly" believing Bhadko and he asked who in the room had ever been to Tibet.
The only ones were Bhadko and Taylor. The Chinese students themselves had never been there, but said they had friends who told them the province was politically stable and the people content.
An unidentified woman said that she had been to Nepal, and supported Bhadko's claims. "Every week monks would come over the Himalayas with stories like this," she said, on the verge of tears.
After about 45 minutes of this heated debate, the dialogue came to an end. Prompted by the audience to have the final word, Bhadko said directly to the Chinese students, "I don't blame you for the things you say." Bhadko then said to the audience, "A Communist government gives you an iron mask that soon becomes part of your own face. If every single Tibetan has to die, we will die for the truth. The situation in Tibet is getting worse. The Tibetan people are drowning in a sea of sorrow. We need someone to reach out to save us; everyone please help."
The speech, held in room 3 of the Rockefeller Center, was sponsored by Dartmouth Students for a Free Tibet.
Copyright 1997, The Dartmouth Inc.
The Dartmouth
Vol. CLI VNo. 75
e. DEPARTMENT OF STATE'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ABROAD HOLDS SECOND MEETING
Washington, D.C. July 2, 1997 - The 20-member Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad of the State Department held its second meeting today. In addition to the Committee members and their chair Assistant Secretary John Shattuck, Undersecretary Tom Pickering, Undersecretary Tim Wirth, Deputy Assistant Secretary Gare Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary Steve Coffey, and Coordinator Alexandra Arriaga, were present. ICT's Mary Beth Markey and Bhucchung K. Tsering were among representatives of NGOs involved with the issue of religious freedom who were invited to the meeting.
The meeting was convened to develop more effective means to promote religious freedom throughout the world. The Committee heard from experts, including Dr. Paul Marshall from the Institute of Christian Studies in Toronto; Dr. Doug Johnston from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C., etc. who discussed reports of persecution, their causes and the recommendations to resolve the issue. Dr. Elliot Sperling, a scholar on Tibetan studies and a member of the Committee, also spoke.
During the open forum, ICT's Bhuchung Tsering updated the committee on the situation of the religious rights of the Tibetan people and urged for a more forceful support from the United States Administration.
The Committee was formed in February this year and had its first meeting the same month. The issue of Tibetan Buddhists figured greatly in the discussions. Secretary John Shattuck, in his introductory remarks, referred to the April 1997 visit by the Dalai Lama to the State Department and his meeting with Secretary Albright as "a very significant event."
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The International Campaign for Tibet
1825 K St. N.W, Suite 520
Washington, D.C. 20006
Phone: +1 (202) 785-1515 / Fax: +1 (202) 785-4343
E-mail: ict@peacenet.org
Internet: http://www.peacenet.org/ict
Non-profit, Tibet advocacy group
"Knowing how to eat. Why to eat and where to eat and what to eat. And with whom to eat. And for whom..."
- Cambodian monk, Maha Ghosananda, on "What does being a Buddhist mean to you?" in Tricycle.
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f. From WUNN July 1, 1997
(1) ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS OF THE UYGHURS DURING HONG KONG RETURN CEREMONIES
Eastern Turkistan Information Center, 7/2/97
(2) SHENZHEN ON ETHNIC TERROR ATTACK ALERT
Agence France-Presse, 6/28/97
(3) TROOPS IN CHINA STEP UP PATROLS
Associated Press
(4) CHINA IS TELLING ITS TROOPS TO BE ON HIGH ALERT IN XINJIANG
Voice of America, 6/25/97, STEPHANIE HO
(5) GENERAL'S MESSAGE OF ETHNIC HARMONY
South China Morning Post, 6/25/97
(6) HUNDREDS REPORTEDLY DENOUNCED TO POLICE IN XINJIANG
Agence France-Presse, 6/28/97
(7) CHINA COUNTERS MUSLIM ARREST
Associated Press, 6/26/97
(8) 590,000 HELD IN CRACKDOWN
ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/25/97
(9) JAILED ACTIVISTS MOVED 'TO AVOID INSTABILITY'
South China Morning Post, 6/26/97
(10) EASTERN TURKISTANIS, TIBETANS AND MONGOLIANS
JOINED IN A RALLY BEFORE THE UNITED NATION
Eastern Turkistan National Freedom Center, 6/15/97 By Anwar Yusuf
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(1) ARBITRARY ARRESTS AND DETENTIONS OF THE UYGHURS DURING HONG KONG RETURN CEREMONIES
Eastern Turkistan Information Center, 7/2/97
[ETIC, 7/2/97] Many Eastern Turkistanis have been arbitrarily detained by police under different allegations in cities of Eastern Turkistan and Chinese provinces before and during ceremonies of returning Hong Kong to China. Only in two last days, about 1000 people were arrested in China's provinces. The current situation in Eastern Turkistan is reported as dangerously tense, and it is described by residents of Eastern Turkistan as the worst during the communist Chinese rule comparing it to the periods of vicious stalinist repressions and terror. Everything indicates that the Chinese authorities extremely worry on possibility of large scale uprisings and disturbances among the Uyghurs, but their precautional measures amount in encreasing state terror, repressions, and ideological brainwashing of the Uyghur population of Eastern Turkistan. [Abdullah Pamir]
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(2) SHENZHEN ON ETHNIC TERROR ATTACK ALERT
Agence France-Presse, 6/28/97
Xinjiang natives living in Shenzhen have been placed under close police surveillance amid fears of possible unrest during the handover period.
The "supervise and monitor" orders, from the Ministries of State Security and Public Security, were issued amid fears Xinjiang people could "collaborate with outside forces" to launch terrorist attacks in support of their campaign for a separate state, media reports said.
Police and security guards were instructed to keep a close watch for suspicious-looking Muslim or Uygur ethnic minorities in the city.
Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, was rocked by a series of bombs in February and clashes between Uygur separatists and security forces.
Shenzhen authorities had already imposed tight security on the city as President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng are expected to spend a night in Shenzhen before heading to Hong Kong for Monday night's handover ceremonies.
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(3) TROOPS IN CHINA STEP UP PATROLS
Associated Press
BEIJING (AP) -- China's defense minister has ordered soldiers to increase drills and patrols in a region of northwestern China shaken by separatist violence, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Defense Minister Chi Haotian, who inspected the region last weekend, said soldiers should remain on high alert, Xinhua reported late Tuesday.
Authorities have stepped up efforts nationwide to forestall any trouble that might disrupt Hong Kong's return to China on Tuesday. Xinjiang, in the northwest, is of particular concern because Uighurs, the Muslim ethnic majority, have grown increasingly angry about living under Chinese rule.
At least 10 people died and 140 were injured in February riots in the northwestern city of Yining. Bus bombs in Urumqi Feb. 25 killed nine passengers and injured 58, according to official reports.
The region's Communist leaders have urged a crackdown on separatists and stronger control over religious affairs.
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(4) CHINA IS TELLING ITS TROOPS TO BE ON HIGH ALERT IN XINJIANG
Voice of America, 6/25/97, STEPHANIE HO
INTRO: China is telling its troops to be on high alert in the far northwestern province of Xinjiang -- amidst heavy security in Beijing as the Hong Kong handover draws nearer. as v-o-a's Stephanie Ho reports, Xinjiang is on China's border, and has experienced periodic separatist unrest among its Muslim Uigher minority.
TEXT: The main communist party newspaper, the People's Daily, quoted Chinese defense minister Chi Haotian as saying soldiers in Xinjiang must increase their patrols and drills to ensure the safety and stability of the region. He says Xinjiang is a large area with a long border and soldiers there must maintain a high state of alert.
The newspaper said the chinese defense minister made his comments during a recent visit to the northwestern region.
China's rulers are taking steps to ensure that nothing taints the return of Hong Kong on July first. As a result, Chinese authorities have boosted security and police patrols in the run-up to what Beijing is calling one of the most important events in Chinese history.
In late February, homemade bus bombs in the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi killed at least nine people. The bomb attack coincided with funeral rites in Beijing for late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.
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(5) GENERAL'S MESSAGE OF ETHNIC HARMONY
South China Morning Post, 6/25/97
IVAN TANG Defence Minister General Chi Haotian urged the Army in Xinjiang to work harder on building the region's security and ethnic harmony.
General Chi, also vice-chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, stopped off in Xinjiang on Saturday for three days after he won support from neighbouring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to crack down on ethnic Uygurs.
It was the second visit to Xinjiang by a senior Chinese leader in three months. National People's Congress Chairman Qiao Shi made an unscheduled stopover in April.
During his visit, General Chi inspected the region's military facilities and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, an influential paramilitary body, Xinhua (the New China News Agency) reported.
General Chi said Xinjiang's military forces should step up border patrols.
"You should give our future generations a peaceful, stable and safe border," General Chi reportedly said. He also urged the Army to implement the party's ethnic harmony policies and build a friendship with ethnic minorities.
"You should build the image of a mighty and civilised army through your strict discipline and good behaviour."
General Chi's visits to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan indicated Beijing was still worried about the stability of Xinjiang after riots in February by Uygurs who form the region's majority.
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(6) HUNDREDS REPORTEDLY DENOUNCED TO POLICE IN XINJIANG
Agence France-Presse, 6/28/97
BEIJING (June 28, 1997 02:38 a.m. EDT) - Hundreds of people in the troubled northwest region of Xinjiang have been turned in to the authorities as Chinese security forces clamp down on Moslem separatist unrest, newspapers reported Saturday.
"There have been more than 1,000 denounciations recorded recently from just the villages of Urumqi, Kotan and Aksou," a public security officials said in the Xinjiang Daily.
"Some people have even handed over the names of family members implicated in criminal acts" after attending meetings to inflame the population with ideas of "separatism" and "terrorism," he added.
Some of the so-called terrorists have said they wanted to "atone for their crimes" and have handed over information allowing the authorities to smash "organisations and illegal groups."
"Because of the services given, the security authorities have treated (the repentants) with indulgence and have taken measures to ensure they are protected," the Xinjiang Daily added.
Last week authorities seized 11 tonnes of explosives in the region which has been rocked by a series of attacks and clashes between ethnic Chinese and Moslem-majority Uighurs.
The unrest left 10 people dead, according to official figures, and more than 100 according to separatists. The region borders on some of the states of the former Soviet Union.
Police sweeps have focused on five cities, including the regional capital Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksou, Kotan and Yining, the paper added.
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(7) CHINA COUNTERS MUSLIM ARREST
Associated Press, 6/26/97
BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese authorities have torn down mosques and canceled religious classes to counter unrest among Muslims in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
At least 40 people have been arrested in the crackdown in the province around the Xinjiang city of Yining, where Feb. 5 riots killed at least 10 people and injured 140, according to the state-run newspaper Xinjiang Daily.
Authorities have stepped up efforts nationwide to forestall any trouble that might disrupt Hong Kong's return Tuesday to China.
Of particular concern are border regions like Xinjiang and Tibet. In Xinjiang, the Muslim ethnic majority has grown increasingly angry over Chinese rule and an influx of Chinese settlers.
Like other religious believers, Muslims are generally allowed to practice their faith, within limits proscribed by the ruling Communist Party. But authorities have tightened control over unauthorized religious activities after protests and bombings in the spring.
They shut down 133 mosques and closed 105 clandestine classes. Teachers found to be promoting Muslim separatism were fired and about 500 of their students were dismissed, the newspaper said in a June 21 report seen today in Beijing.
The report said the local Communist Party had recruited hundreds of new officials, militiamen and police to impose order and help with poverty relief.
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(8) 590,000 HELD IN CRACKDOWN
ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/25/97
Police arrested more than 590,000 suspects and seized almost 1.2 million firearms in a three-month anti-crime drive this spring.
Authorities have intensified a campaign to curb rising violent crime to forestall trouble ahead of Hong Kong's handover, the Legal Daily said.
Police said they had solved 44,000 crimes. Of the 590,000 people held, 23,000 were prison escapees and 131 belonged to criminal syndicates.
The crackdown also resulted in the closing of 14,000 illegal dance halls, saunas, massage parlours and other establishments involved in the sex trade.
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g. Separatists 'should be wiped out', South China Morning Post
South China Morning Post
Thursday July 3 1997
Separatists 'should be wiped out'
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A top Xinjiang official has called on the population to "exterminate" what he called the scourge of separatism.
Amudun Niyaz, chairman of the Xinjiang People's Congress, said: "The struggle against separatism is an absolute must and we should carry it out in the way we deal with the cotton scourge."
Mr Niyaz was referring to the cotton worms which destroyed crops in recent years in the province, China's principal cotton-supplier.
"Men, women, the old and the young should join in this struggle to root out separatism, the scourge of the nation," he told cadres in Kashgar, a Muslim separatist stronghold.
Mr Niyaz's comments were reported in the Xinjiang Daily.
Xinjiang has been rocked by a series of violent clashes in recent months between its majority Muslim Uygur population and Han Chinese settlers, officials and security forces.
In February, separatists planted several bombs in Urumqi and the border city of Yining, killing at least nine people.
