Published by World Tibet Network News - Monday, March 24, 1997

Three warships from The PRC Navy were invited to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego after a stop at Pearl Harbor. It was the first time The PRC military ever visited the U.S. Coordinated by the Tibet Alliance San Diego, Tibet supporters rented a 28 ft. sailboat and a message plane to fly overhead during the arrival ceremony. A protest at the gates of North Island occurred later in the afternoon as well.

At 8AM the demonstrators set sail. The U.S. Coast Guard knew of the action and said they would not get in the way. The group sailed along the shoreline and came right up to the arrival ceremony about 20 minutes before the warships arrived. The protesters could not believe the Coast Guard let them so close. We shouted Free Tibet and human rights slogans through a bullhorn right at the Navy officers and the media waiting for the ceremony. Then the group sailed out towards the ships. We sailed within 50 yards of all 3 ships, calling out to them in Mandarin and English. The PRC had nothing to do but listen to us as they were waiting to dock.

The 2nd ship's naval band broke out into The PRC national anthem in response to our protests. At the same time, our message plane flew overhead with a banner reading "U.S. Welcomes China While Tibet Weeps." Surrounded by U.S. Navy helicopters, U.S. and PRC warships, Coast Guard boats, and Harbor Police boats all around us, we truly were in the belly of the beast.

About 30 people attended the afternoon protest, which gave us a chance to discover the degree of our support. We were able to bond with the local Taiwanese community. The PRC ships are headed for Acapulco, Peru, and Chile.

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