Unexpected Holidays : Tourist Films Tibet Riots

CHAN:
A tourist from Sydney joined a guided tour of Tibet in mid-March hoping to witness the culture and natural beauty of the region. Instead he witnessed the largest outbreak of protests against Chinese rule in decades... and caught it all on film.

STORY:
It's not a typical holiday video but this footage was shot by a tourist. Mike Smith went to Tibet to experience its culture and beauty. Instead the 24-year-old Australian witnessed Tibetan protesters rioting in the streets.

[Mike Smith, Australian Tourist]:
"We knew already that March is a politically sensitive time to be traveling in Tibet and during that protest a number of monks were arrested by the Chinese forces, which is I guess the last wound that Tibetan people suffered and the next day young Tibetan men took to the streets."

Over a 48-hour period Mike witnessed one of the most violent uprisings in decades. And he got a real sense of the anger many Tibetans feel about Chinese rule.

[Tibetan Protester]:
"In Lhasa we don't have any freedoms, Chinese government tell to Tibetan people all over the world, they are keeping the freedoms for the Tibet people, we don't have any freedom."

Smith filmed much of the footage from his hotel after it became too dangerous on the streets.

[Mike Smith, Australian Tourist]:
"I can't speculate as to what kind of force was used because I didn't see it either but I definitely saw the both sides of the story and it was one end of the street was young Tibetan men with nothing but sticks and at the other end of the street was the might of Imperial China with tanks and riot police and army officers, so."

Mike is now back in Sydney. He got out of the country after he and some other tourists were escorted to the nearest train station by Chinese police. There they hired four-wheeled drive cars and fled to Nepal.

[Mike Smith, Australian Tourist]:
"My Tibetan tour guide actually grabbed me and pulled me back inside the hotel, and said that he was legitimately scared for his safety and the other Tibetans who were part of his company and for his family's safety. If we were to be captured with video footage he said he would go to jail for at least fifteen years."

It's not clear how many people died during the violence then or since. But Mike says he will try and find somewhere a little safer for his next holiday.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• tourism
• films
• tibet
• riots
• monks
• arrested
• China
• holiday
• community
• personals
• random
• unexpected

[hisphoninesss]

His Phoniness DalAI lAMA's autocratic theocratic rule has been running for 70 yrs under the cloak of democracy with no true freedom/ freedom of speech for his refugees. He and his elite wealthy family is more powerful than all the previous dalai lamas. His wealthy elite family hold high gvt posts and chairties that channel millions of dollars through their hands. They live in HONGKONG, DELHI, USA, etc with business, high jobs, and houses. down with him and his aristocrat looters of OLD tibet.

[dorje168]

The present Chinese leaders are deluded by their economic and military prowess

Genuine respect could be commanded only with moral authority.

They must understand that this could be achieved only by respecting the fundamental human rights in Tibet and China

China must peacefully resolve the Tibetan Issue that meets the aspiration of the Tibetan people and all other nationalities within China

[namchoela]

and for someone else saying how come the young guy speak english if there is no freedom? u sound really shallow. learning english has nothing to do with freedom. and u have no idea what the tibetans are fighting against.

[Sarah3213]

CHINA EXECUTION BUSES, Coming to a City near you. WAKE UP is a great youtube video. Falun Gong executions, authorities selling the harvested organs from executions etc. Also BBC News - June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square Massacre is a REALLY good youtube video, but there is LOADS of live footage on here of the massacre. yet more proof as if we need any that the chinese state are an oppressive cowardly gang of power crazed thugs. No change there then..

[bchgngr]

might of imperial china? man get your facts right...

[rice31254]

FREE TIBET!!!

[RightsOfManTimor]

Free Tibet! Down with racist apartheid China!

[shannanalps]

The rioters said they did not have any freedom, however, now we saw that they had the freedom to destroy the city of Lahsa, to kill innocent people, to burn the civilian-owned shops and to severely violate the law. I did not hear that CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS or BBC mentioned or suggested a good way of solving those people's problem.

[remithia]

There are 1.3 billion people in China...now imagine the number of people that are irresponsible, have a lack of morality, greedy etc inside that number with comparison to a smaller country (population) in terms of ratio. It is not hard to conjecture that what smaller countries have as a minor problem; it is not so for China. The Chinese government isn't perfect. No government is. But to say CCP is a very BAD government is unfair. This is written in a neutral point of view.

[timmytango]

This video is GREAT.  It shows Tibetan thugs hurting innocents.

Why aren't they protesting the 5 Chinese shopgirls who were burned alive by these Tibetan thugs?

Think about it.