Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jjmonkey]

South Korean protesters awaiting Olympic torch
By T.D. Flack and Hwang Hae-rym, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, April 26, 2008

SEOUL � About 1,000 South Korean protesters from various civic organizations say they�ll gather in Seoul on Sunday morning to block the Olympic torch relay.

One group � the Christian Accountability for Society � posted a statement on its Web site Thursday to announce its protest over the Chinese government�s violent crackdown on the Tibetan people.

The protesters plan to gather in front of the Olympic Park�s Peace Gate at 11 a.m. The torch relay begins there at 2 p.m. and is supposed to arrive at Seoul City Hall by 7 p.m.

Seoul officials are keeping the route � and even those tapped to carry the torch � secret until the very last minute in an effort to thwart protesters.

Kim Gyu-ho, secretary general of the Christian Accountability Society, said in a phone interview Thursday that people from about 100 civic groups will join in the protest to let the public know that China shouldn�t host the Olympics.

Kim said the rally will be peaceful, and he doesn�t expect trouble with the police. The worst thing that could happen, he predicted, was a 300,000 won fine (about $300).

�We are totally prepared for it and willing to pay it,� he said.

Han Chang-kweon, who heads a North Korean defectors group that will join the protest, said his people will take some action to block the torch. He wouldn�t elaborate, saying that their �planned resistance activities� should remain secret.

�We [want] the world to know that China has two faces,� Han said. It�s also an opportunity to highlight the issue of the Chinese government forcing North Korean defectors to return to their own country.

The U.S. Embassy is warning Americans to �exercise caution� by postponing nonessential travel on Sunday.

�These demonstrations could escalate with little warning, further disrupting transportation systems and posing potential risks to bystanders� personal safety,� the embassy warned in an e-mail sent Wednesday to citizens registered with the State Department.


http://www.mahalo.com/Olympic_Torch_Seoul

[pugwall]

You do know beijing are going to meet with Dalai Lama representatives?

[Chris_Dixon]

[pugwall]

[mrgiles]

sad i missed this, tho i did scowl at some china supporters i saw on the subway. however, they probably just thought i had an ugly, screwed up face.

[pugwall]

[mrgiles]

i know. scowling is a dangerous, hurtful and violent act. we all need to be diligent in our holy war on terror.

[pugwall]

[mrgiles]

right. how about some perspective?

i have many chinese friends, and i love the country of china. what was behind my nefarious scowling were some of the following thoughts.

the chinese govt's lack of action, and unvoiced support for the brutally repressive regime of burma.
its interest and culpability in the sudan.
its support of the lunacy of mugabe in zimbabwe. that chinese ship is still trying to find a port somewhere in africa, as far as i'm aware.
the crackdown on tibetan protests (altho it's hard to get an accurate understanding of this, i concede. one major factor in this is the restrictions placed on non-state media in the hotspots)
the abysmal ecological policies pursued by the chinese government. abysmal as in u.s. level.
the imprisonment of hundreds of writers and bloggers immediately prior to and during this most "unpolitical" of all olympics. it's funny how it's only bad for it to be "political" if it's anti-state.
now i don't mind any national to have a love for their country, but i think coming out in support of "china" on the day the olympic torch is in seoul is an undeniable display of support for the chinese government which desperately wants to use the flame POLITICALLY to pursue their goals.

i detest the above misdeeds on the part of the chinese government just as much as i detest human right violations perpetrated by the u.s government internationally - or any state, for that matter. my post-marxist perspective ought to make me a bit more sympathetic to a communist state, but the actions of the chinese gov, especially of late, make me furious. hence the scowls. thank u for ur time.

[mrgiles]

btw nobody's innocent, imo.

[pugwall]

[Tjames426]

The facts are Tibetan protestors killed Chinese innocents and the western media focused only on the police coming in to breakdown the tensions.
***

The migration of Chinese into Lhasa is not an innocent affair. It is like saying the Germans who moved into Poland during WW2 were innocent.

[Tjames426]

They have had more shit to deal with in the last 50 years than pretty much any country in the world. Why not give'em a break fella?

***
Pretty much self inflicted wounds too. Nothing like the Mao years when millions of Chinese peasants starved. Nothing like the Cultural Revolution either.

You are trying to have me feel sorry for the Mainland Chinese. The only reason I feel sorry for them is because they got stuck with the CCP.

Most of the Chinese I know are good people. They come from good simple backgrounds. They have studied hard. They have opened up doors of opportunity for themselves. I feel really really awful for them sometimes. Why do so many good people have a Government that treats them like s..... .

Sometimes, it does not seem right that "every people get the Government they deserve".

[pugwall]

[pugwall]