Friday, June 27
FREE SPEECH: LOST IN TIBET, THREATENED IN HONG KONG
The Australia Tibet Council today expressed grave concern about the future of free speech in Hong Kong after next Monday's handover to China.
ATC President Ms Alex Butler said today that this morning's protest in Statue Square calling for Tibetan freedom could well be the last ever held in Hong Kong. The protest was jointly organised by ATC and the British Free Tibet Campaign.
"Tung Chee-hwa, the incoming Chief Executive, has said clearly that advocating Tibetan independence will become illegal after next Monday. Even more disturbing is his refusal to confirm people's right to merely discuss the issue of independence or to hang up pictures of the Dalai Lama. This must send a chill down the spine of anyone concerned about the survival of human rights in Hong Kong after the handover", Ms Butler said.
In Tibet, calling for Tibetan freedom is considered a counterrevolutionary crime, and is punishable by a lengthy prison sentence. Hundreds of Tibetans, mainly monks and nuns, are in jail for taking part in peaceful pro-independence demonstrations, most of which have lasted for only a couple of minutes before being broken up by security police.
There have also been bitter clashes over the right to display photos of the Dalai Lama. Last year, Chinese authorities physically removed photos of the Tibetan religious and political leader from Tibetan monasteries and hotels. In some areas of Lhasa, searches of private homes were also carried out. Up to 80 monks and nuns were shot or seriously injured as they resisted Chinese efforts to remove the Dalai Lama photos from their monasteries and nunneries.
In Hong Kong, the unelected incoming provisional legislature is due to meet in the early hours of July 1 to pass laws related to sedition, subversion, and treason.
"The governments of the world turned their heads away as the Tibetan people lost their freedom in the 1950s. Human rights supporters and the media have a real responsibility to ensure that the whole world keeps watching Hong Kong after July 1, so that the tragic history of Tibet isn't repeated in Hong Kong", Ms Butler said.
Contact:
Alex Butler 61 3 9499 1841
Dorji Dolma (in Hong Kong) 001 61 411 300161 or 2735 9181 Room 102/103
