European Vice-President Voices Support for Tibet

And the drama continues over the crisis in Tibet. In London, Tibetans-in-exile and their supporters have been rallying and hunger striking in front of London's Chinese Embassy. From London, Ben Hedges has the story:
STORY:
One week has passed since the Chinese deadline for Tibetan protesters to surrender. Despite being unable to see what is now happening to the protesters inside Tibet, the protesters here have staged rallies and a hunger strike in front of London's Chinese embassy.
[Sonam, Hunger Striker]:
"All my relatives are back in Tibet. Nowadays it's very hard to keep in contact with them. They are afraid to tell us what is happening in there."
[Zigten Namgyal Bhutia, Tibetan-in-exile]:
"My father prays two hours everyday for Tibet, so he can on day go back to Tibet."
One of the hunger strikers is an exiled Tibetan nun. She says she was arrested when she was 13 years old for shouting 'free Tibet' in the Tibetan capital Lhasa.
[Ngawang Sangdrol, Tibetan Nun]:
"In 1996 I shouted in prison 'Free Tibet' and 'Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama'. For this they increased my sentence to eight more years and put me in a solitary confinement cell for six months."
Vice-President of the European Parliament Edward MacMillan Scott also spoke to reporters near the embassy. He called on the international community to put more pressure on China to improve human rights.
[Edward MacMillan Scott, European Parliament Vice-President]:
"It's time for the world to wake up, for politicians everywhere to recognize the nature of the regime we have in Beijing, that all the promises made in 2001, when the Olympic Games were awarded to China are empty promises."
The Chinese regime maintains death toll from the crackdown is 13 people. But Matt Whitticase of the Free Tibet Campaign says the real number may be much higher.
[Matt Whitticase, Free Tibet Campaign]:
"This is absolute nonsense. We know in Lhasa alone 99 people are confirmed dead."
The Tibetan government-in-exile said on Saturday that the death toll may be as high as 140 people in Tibet alone.
Ben Hedges, NTD, London.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• EU
• Tibet
• Chinese
• regime
• commentary
• analysis
• news

[arodspecialist]

@goldtalin Sure, your people are ready to go to war? Do you need outside help?

[oracle3456]

liers, they have a better lives in uk, do u think they rlly wanna go back? just barking like dogs to beg for people's mercy...

[PriolTorcy]

Les JO ont permis de dévoiler la vrai figure de HU Jintao et sa clique de loups déguisés en bon pères de famille.

[clavie05]

Succeful olympic was over :P

[HumanRightsVideosT]

The Hu Clique are TERRORISTS.

Learn more about Tibet and China.

[888reventon]

I would give the tibet supporters more respect if they were to light themselves up on fire. What a statement that would be. I'll get my marshmellows ready, can't let a good fire go to waste.

[joga10r]

dude what the hell are you talking about?

[dorje168]

On one side we have the CCP, a Ruthless Regime that killed 70 million people.

On the other side we have His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who 20 million Vajrayana Buddhists believe is a fully Enlightened Buddha, manifestation of Avalokitesvara, the Buddha of Loving Compassion.

Which one should we believe?

[shinikita]

dorge168

still at it, you really are working overtime spreading lies and propaganda for the cia and slave owners. Lying and spreading rumours is also a sin in buddhism, I would think a religious fanatic like you should know that. Maybe you should practice more and preach less. Think about that when you're cashing your cia check. The 5% former slave owners will never again enslave the other 95% of tibetans in a theocracy. Stop violating buddhist laws, its bad karma you know

[dorje168]

Why is the Tibet question so intractable that no leader in Beijing has managed to resolve it so far?

1) Beijing is confronted with the Tibetan people whose sense of a united nationhood stretches back at least as far as the seventh century.

2) This is a religious issue for them, even after 50 years the devotion to His Holiness The Dalai Lama is as strong as ever. He is not only their King but he is also their Spiritual Guru.