Sunday, April 27, 2008

Current Affairs

Mas Selamat
So, he's been on the run for... what? Since Feb 27, which means that as of today, he's been on the run for two months, discounting the fact that March has 31 days and February has 28. That means it's been 59 days. Singaporeans are busy blaming the government; I think that's just stupid. I mean, you sack all the people starting from the top ranked; what do you get? An empty slots, and new people will get elected, and so on, and the so called 'rookies'... will they get things right? I doubt so. Anyway, the SAF and police force are concentrating their forces on hunting him - they're leaving the blame till the end. Kudos to the people to have thought of that.

The Dalai Lama, Tibet and China
All the quarrels really make the people wonder, What the hell is going on?

The whole unrest has its root in history. On the 10th of March, 1959, there was an unrest, all for the sake of granting Tibet an autonomous government; China rejected, and the uprising failed. This caused the Dalai Lama to go into exile in India, where he recently emerged. Fast forward to now. An eyewitness claimed that police cars, fire engines and official vehicles were set on fire by the Tibetans after the police force dispersed a peaceful demonstration near a small temple in Lhasa. According to CNN, the police used tear gas and gunfire to break up the protests. The tension between China and Tibet increased after the city's three biggest monasteries were sealed off by Chinese soldiers and armed police. The police reportedly fired warning shots, used tear gas and electric prods to disperse protesters, in addition to detaining around 50 monks. Tibetan exiles claim that at least 5 people have been killed by police fire by March 15.

In addition, there have been international protests, apart from Tibet and China.

In chronological order
March 10, Monday: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Consulate General of China building was stormed by several members of "Students for a Free Tibet", and replaced China's flag with the Tibetan flag. Some of them were later detained by the police.

March 14, Friday: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Three protesters successfully entered the consulate and tried to lower the flag; one of them were detained and later released after a negotiation between the police and the consulate.

March 15, Saturday: Zurich, Switzerland
Police fired tear gas at pro-Tibet demonstrators who tried to storm the Chinese consulate.

March 15, Saturday: Sydney, Australia
About 40 Tibetan protesters stormed the Chinese Consulate, resulting in the police attacking them with capsicum sprays and batons in an attempt to get them to stop; one plainclothes officers was attacked; 7 were arrested.

March 15, Saturday: Meghalaya, India
Over the past few days, Tibetans shut down their shops in protest to the Chinese crackdown in Tibet; hundreds marched from the town of Dharamsala to the Indo-Chinese border, to mark their protest against the Chinese occupation of Tibet. The previous day, Indian officials arrested over 100 protesters.

March 16, Sunday: Paris, France
Over 500 Tibetan protesters congregated outside the Chinese Embassy; one of them successfully breached security and replace the Chinese flag with the Tibetan flag. 10 people were taken into custody; tear gas was deployed to disperse the demonstration.

March 16, Sunday: The Hague, Netherlands
About 400 protesters tried to storm the Chinese Consulate; they succeeded in replacing the Chinese flag with the Tibetan flag.

March 16, Sunday: Tokyo, Japan
Over 100 Tibetans and members of a Japanese pro-Tibetan group marched in Yoyogi Park, shouting slogans of protest against China; this protest was originally reserved for the Olympic Torch run.

March 17, Monday: Munich, Germany
The Chinese Consulate was stormed by Tibetan protesters, who set the Chinese flag on fire and sprayed slogans on the front door; some of them read "Save Tibet" and "Stop killing". 26 were detained.

March 17, Monday: Vilnius, Lithuania
A small group of Tibetan protesters held a peaceful protest outside the Chinese Embassy.

March 17, Monday: Kathmandu, Tibet
44 Tibetan exiles were arrested after they protested outside the UN complex. Tibetan police used tear gas and bamboo poles to restrain the protesters; they insisted that they were protesting peacefully.

March 18, Tuesday: Rome, Italy
Several hundred Tibetans and Italians held a peaceful candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Embassy; nobody was arrested.

March 18, Tuesday: Sydney, Australia
Again, a large group of Tibetan protesters tried to storm the Chinese consulate; the police had to restrain them by force.

March 20, Thursday: Vienna, Austria
Tibetans intruded on the Embassy of China, taking down the flag and destroying property.

March 20, Thursday: Budapest, Hungary
About 200 people held protests at the Chinese Embassy, chanting pro-Tibet slogans, throwing rocks and paint sacks. One of the windows were broken; two people were arrested.

March 20, Thursday: Vilnius, Lithuania
More than 60 bike riders protested outside the Chinese Embassy, and demanded, at the Presidential Palace, for the governmental officials not to visit the Olympic Games' opening in Beijing later this year.

March 20, Thursday: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Around 200-300 protesters gathered at the Parliament Hill. The Canadian PM and some ministers immediately spoke out against the protests.

March 22, Saturday: Reykjavik, Iceland
Around 40 protesters protested peacefully outside the Chinese Embassy, chanting pro-Tibet slogans and waving flags. The steps leading up to the building was covered in red paint; three members from a political youth organization attempted to deliver a letter of disapproval. Nobody was arrested.

March 22, Saturday: Tokyo, Japan
Over 900 Tibetan exiles and Japanese supporters protested in Roppongi. Zenko-ji, the temple that was originally scheduled to be the starting point of the Olympic torch relay, withdrew from the plan, citing security concerns; it was then vandalized, presumably in reaction to its decision of withdrawal.

March 24, Monday: Olympia, Greece
A French activist managed to breach security and tried to unfurl a banner behind the Chinese Olympic's chief; he was quickly removed. Later, as the torch relay began, a Tibetan woman covered herself in red paint and lay on the streets, forcing the relay to weave around her as protesters called out "Flame of Shame". The government condemned this incident.

April 6, Sunday: UK
Security for the Olympic Torch was increased for fears of being hijacked, but a demonstrator managed to get his hands on the Torch, another one extinguishing the flames with a fire extinguisher. The trip was followed by a group of vociferous protesters.

April 7, Monday: Paris, France
The flames was attacked again, causing the run to be abandoned. The Torch traveled on heavily armed support vehicles for most of the time.

April 13, Sunday: Sydney, Australia
Chinese-Australian demonstrators took to the streets, protesting against bias in Western media reporting in relation to Tibetan protests. They also voiced their objection to Tibet independence and their support to the 2008 Summer Olympics. The NSW police estimated that around 6000 people attended the protests. News outlets in China reported around 5000~6000 people. English language media outlets reported significantly less; ABC reported around 1000, while Channel Nine reported only "several hundred".

In Melbourne, around 5000 Chinese students also protested.

Okay. Report over; now the reactions from the various people. Most of them have called for both sides to show restraint. Personally, I think this is retarded. I mean, the Chinese government can just let go of Tibet by a bit; the Dalai Lama has already said that he was just trying to achieve bigger autonomy for Tibet, and not complete independence. Why can't they just let go? Please~~~, China's territory is already friggin BIG ENOUGH, are they intending to build their country all the way up to the Himalayas? The next thing they'll do is start claiming Japan, then India, then soon, the ENTIRE BLOODY WORLD will be called China. I'm pissed. Just... use your brains, okay? The whole world isn't under your rule, the Tibetans have their rights too. So, just call off your bloody troops and discuss the matter over before taking any actions.

Posted by Denunciator at 11:17 AM