Chinese Students Made a Mockery on Democracy By Inciting Hatred against
Tibetans -- City of Toronto owes its Tibetan citizens an apology/Judi
McLeod
Inciting Hatred against Tibetans
City of Toronto owes its Tibetan citizens an apology
By Judi McLeod Sunday, March 30, 2008
The rally with flag-waving Chinese students hurling insults against
Tibetans put a black mark on Toronto¡¯s popular Dundas Square yesterday.
Touted as a gathering to promote ¡°anti-violence¡±, a throng of about
1,000 students chanted ¡°Dalai Lama die there¡± to a small counter protest
of Tibetan protesters who had gathered across the street.
The Tibetans were not only vastly outnumbered, they looked it.
Raucous and ear-splitting loud in nature, the protest attracted
passersby and shoppers from the nearby Eaton Centre.
The students in the square seemed to have the sup****t of carfuls of
other students circling the square, waving flags and honking horns.
¡°No. No, this is not right,¡± said an elderly Chinese woman standing
beside me on the sidewalk in front of the square.
It was gratifying for me to know that some Torontonians did not approve
what was going on in the square.
When I crossed the street, Tibetans told me they had decided on an
impromptu counter protest after word leaked out that the protest would
be mainly anti-Tibet. The prime reason for the Chinese rally, they
said, was to incite hatred against Tibetans.
Their theory rings true when it is considered that the protest was
advertised in the Chinese media as a rally to tell the ¡°truth¡± about
Tibet and ¡°safeguard¡± the reunification of the motherland¡±.
Flag-waving, chanting Chinese students denounced Tibetans who they
blamed for the recent turmoil in Tibet in which as many as 100 are said
to have died.
Many of the passersby who stopped to watch, were from the nearby Chinese
community and some were adversely impressed.
They seemed uneasy and hesitated crossing the street because of the
cruising cars with flags held outside passenger windows.
¡°What do these kids know about life under the heel of a Communist
regime?¡± asked one man who had stopped to ask what was going on.
I was gratified to find out later that the event had been covered by The
Epoch Times, whose story was posted on Internet giant, the Drudge Re****t.
¡°The rally became dramatic when a Tibetan refugee took to the stage
waving a Tibetan flag. He was seized by a group of Chinese who dragged
him away before police intervened to separate them.¡± (The Epoch Times,
March 29, 2008).
¡°After the incident, the man spoke with The Epoch Times. In tears, he
described the suffering of Tibetans under communist rule, explaining
that he left Tibet 10 years ago and came to Canada only recently. The
man said Toronto Mayor David Miller should reconsider a planned trip to
China next moth amid the ongoing repression in Tibet by the communist
regime.
Between slurs, patriotic Chinese songs reverberated from the
loudspeakers. Onlookers identified some of the songs coming from the
square as Communist ones.
Angry Chinese students turned on the smaller Tibetan group, screaming,
¡°Dalai Lama lies!¡± ¡°Liars, liars¡± and ¡°Leave Canada!¡± ¡°Leave Canada
now!¡±
You could read anxiety on the faces of onlookers when a man, waving a
huge Chinese flag suddenly charged across busy Yonge Street to where the
Tibetans were protesting,
The Epoch Times said he was identified as University of Toronto student
Yang Shao by other students in the square.
Police at 52 Division said the man had been released and no charges had
been laid.
Dundas Square is a popular gathering place and features top
entertainment throughout the year.
The City of Toronto oversees programming and events. Its own protocol
rules include not permitting use of the square to those who would
belittle any identifiable group with a rider that messages can only be
communicated in a positive way.
Today¡¯s event got the green light under the guise of a ¡°Love China
Concert¡±.
Bureaucrats were not doing their job as even English-language flyers
advertising the event pushed a distinctly anti-Tibetan theme.
As Toronto Mayor David Miller plans his China trip, world leaders are
boycotting the Olympics in Beijing in protest to the Chinese
government¡¯s crackdown in Tibet.
Donald Tusk, Poland¡¯s prime minister, became the first EU head of
government to announce a boycott on Thursday and he was soon joined by
President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic, who will renege on plans
to travel to Beijing.
German chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday became the first world leader
to decide not to attend the Beijing Olympics.
EU leaders are preparing to discuss the crisis.
Meanwhile, the City of Toronto owes its Tibetan citizens a sincere
apology for what was allowed to happen at Dundas Square today.
Posted 03/30 at 12:04 AM Email (Permalink)
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