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Torture 'Victory' Song to be Theme of Chinese Government
New Year Show in North American Venues
US Newswire | January 18 2006

Friends of Falun Gong USA, a NJ based human rights organization, is extremely disturbed about the content of a Chinese New Year performance organized by the Chinese Communist Government, scheduled to be held in the U.S. and Canada.

It is Friends of Falun Gong USA's understanding that this Chinese New Year celebration features a song entitled "The Same Song" which apparently comes from a familiar TV program shown on CCTV, one of the most influential media mouthpieces of the Chinese Communist Party, since 2000.

According to sources, Falun Gong practitioners are forced to learn this song while held captive and face beatings, electrocution, or force-feeding of feces and sludge if they refuse. Whenever a Falun Gong practitioner is "transformed" the first thing he/she is forced to do is to join in singing this song with the police who have broken them. Even prisoners who are not practitioners are said to understand that whenever they hear "The Same Song", it means that another Falun Gong practitioner has been successfully brainwashed.

"To allow a foreign government to come on U.S. soil and covertly communicate in a seemingly harmless little song its triumphs in crushing the mind, body, and spirit of countless innocent people is simply intolerable", says Friends of Falun Gong USA executive director, Alan Adler.

"It would be no surprise if the Chinese Communist Government films their performance from landmark American locations, like NYC, so they can turn around and use them as weapons against the thousands still being tortured, claiming that all foreigners support the persecution of the Falun Gong in China. We can't let this happen."

Friends of Falun Gong USA calls on the American government to explore all means to assist in stopping this performance. Additionally, we ask that all venues currently scheduled to hold the show to be aware of its content and the serious role it will likely play in the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and reconsider their contract for this performance with the Chinese Government.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2006/180106victorysong.htm

[igotthisguitar]

China: Fears for Tibetan Slaughterhouse Detainees
29 Mar 2006 22:02:05 GMT

Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York, March 30, 2006) – The authorities in Sichuan province must allow independent medical professionals and human rights monitors into a prison where five Tibetans have been held in custody without trial for more than six months, Human Rights Watch said today.

The five, detained after the burning of a slaughterhouse in Sichuan province last August, have been held without any charges against them made public and reportedly without access to relatives or defense counsel.

Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the physical condition of the men after a sixth detainee was released and found to have gone blind in custody as a result of alleged beatings and lack of access to medical care.

"It's time for the Chinese government to give a full account of what has happened to these five men, including any charges against them," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Independent doctors and lawyers should be allowed to meet with them to ascertain their condition."

On August 5, 2005, some 300 Tibetans reportedly burned down a privately-owned slaughterhouse in Manigango, near Kandze, a predominately Tibetan part of Sichuan province.

The following day, police and army units detained several dozen people, many of whom had been identified from a videotape taken by slaughterhouse staff during the attack. Most were released later that day, but several were detained. According to eyewitness testimony, those held in custody were beaten and tortured. Additional police and military forces were brought to the area for the express purpose of conducting these beatings.

Some who were badly injured were taken to a hospital in Kandze. Local citizens registered a complaint with the provincial government, which sent an investigation team to the hospital. When local Public Security Bureau officials learned of the team's visit, those injured during the protests were reportedly moved out of the hospital.

Five men thought by local officials to be the ringleaders remain in custody. Their last known location was reportedly in Public Security detention in Derge County. The five include Sherab Yonten (60 to 70 years old), Sonam Gyelpo (50) and Dawa (30). The names of the other two men are not known. Soepa (40 to 50 years old) was released after going blind.

"The very fact that so little is known about this case after all this time illustrates the police state that Tibetans live with on a daily basis," said Adams. "Almost everything related to public security is treated as a state secret and there is no public accountability, even when there is evidence of severe torture."

The slaughterhouse had been a point of contention with local herdsmen since its construction in 2004. Local officials were reportedly paid bribes of $11,000 to facilitate the construction of the privately-owned slaughterhouse. After its construction, local Tibetans reportedly came under pressure from local authorities to sell their livestock to the new slaughterhouse.

Local pastoralists also claim that at the time they were suffering from the theft of their livestock, which was being sold to the slaughterhouse. While the slaughterhouse told them it was taking steps to avoid acquiring stolen livestock, authorities of the Derge County Public Security Bureau allegedly failed to respond to the pastoralists' complaints.

In this case, as in other cases in Sershul County, Sichuan province, local religious figures attempted unsuccessfully to intervene to reach a peaceful settlement by offering financial compensation in exchange for closing the facilities. Those familiar with the events in Manigango believe that local pastoralists were emboldened to attack the slaughterhouse because it was not government-owned.

"That local officials continue to deny this incident even took place is typical of efforts to cover up human rights abuses in the region," said Adams. "It is thus vital that the authorities clarify the legal status of the detainees and allow immediate access to them."

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/4b04dc43e44226020eabef5418f02acf.htm

[igotthisguitar]

Dalai Lama Begins Visits In Mongolia
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - The Dalai Lama met with worshippers in Mongolia on Tuesday, and the Chinese Embassy said it had no plans to protest his visit following assurances he wouldn't take part in political activities.

The exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader was greeted by thousands of believers and tourists at Mongolia's largest Buddhist monastery, Gandantegcheling temple, in the capital Ulan Bator.

Seated on a cushioned throne before the main temple hall of whitewashed brick, he delivered an address stressing the importance of traditional family values while worshippers strained against police lines to get closer.



"These are the values that sustain us through difficult times of change," the Dalai Lama said.

China, Mongolia's powerful neighbor to the south, considers the Dalai Lama a troublemaker bent on freeing Tibet from Beijing's rule. It had been widely expected to protest his visit. Beijing responded to the Dalai Lama's 2002 visit to Mongolia by cutting off rail links for two days.

But asked whether China was planning a new protest, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Ulan Bator referred reporters to a statement issued Monday night by the Mongolian Foreign Ministry describing the Dalai Lama's visit as a "purely religious matter and nonpolitical."

"We do not have any additional statements or comments on the issue at present," said the spokesman, who declined to give his name as is common practice among Chinese bureaucrats.

That stance appeared to indicate a wait-and-see attitude to the visit � the seventh to Mongolia by the Dalai Lama since 1979 � a likely result of Mongolia's efforts to keep the weeklong trip low-key.

Organizers didn't publicize the visit until last week and have kept the Dalai Lama's schedule under tight wraps. He is being housed at a secluded guest house 45 miles from the capital and much of his time here will be spent in closed meetings with local Buddhist clergy hoping to settle factional disputes.

China routinely calls on countries not to let the Dalai Lama visit, often hinting at possible diplomatic or commercial retaliation. Communist Party newspapers this month have criticized such trips as an effort to rally anti-China forces and realize Tibetan independence.

Beijing claims to have ruled Tibet for centuries, though the country was effectively independent when communist troops arrived in 1950.

The Dalai Lama fled to India following an abortive 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, he travels widely as a speaker on religion and morality and a representative of Tibetan culture.

Earlier Tuesday, the Dalai Lama arrived at the temple, smiling and waving to the crowd, many of whom held up silk scarves as a sign of greeting. A group of elderly women chanted Buddhist scripture while other visitors spun prayer wheels.

The Dalai Lama then entered an inner compound where he walked up a yellow silk carpet beneath a yellow parasol amid swirling incense smoke as monks blew trumpets and crashed cymbals. Entering a prayer hall, he mounted a raised dais while bowing monks chanted, receiving food offerings and bestowing blessings.

"Every time he visits, he brings good fortune to Mongolia," said Baamba, a retiree who like many Mongolians uses just one name.

Mongolians have strong historical links to Tibet and have traditionally followed Tibet's esoteric, or Tantric, school of Buddhism. A 16th-century Mongolian king is thought to have bestowed the first Dalai Lama title � a designation which means "Ocean of Wisdom."

In 1904, the 13th Dalai Lama took refuge in Mongolia, a landlocked nation sandwiched between China and Russia, when the British invaded Lhasa, Tibet's capital.

On Wednesday, the Dalai Lama was due to lecture to a public audience in Ulan Bator's main stadium.

Reporter Ganbat Namjil contributed to this report from Ulan Bator.

On the Net: http://www.dalailama.com

[igotthisguitar]

Dalai Lama Brushes Off Chinese Criticism
By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Dalai Lama, after meeting privately Tuesday with President Bush, brushed off China's furious reaction to U.S. celebrations this week in his honor. "That always happens," the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet's Buddhists said with a laugh, speaking to reporters gathered outside his downtown Washington hotel.

The White House defended the meeting in the president's residence and dismissed Beijing's warning that the talks and the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to him on Wednesday would damage relations between the United States and China.



The Dalai Lama is hailed in much of the world as a figure of moral authority, but Beijing reviles the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and claims he seeks to destroy China's sovereignty by pushing for independence for Tibet, where the Dalai Lama is considered a god-king.

When asked if he had a message for Chinese President Hu Jintao, the Dalai Lama playfully patted a reporter on the cheek and said, "You are not a representative of Hu Jintao."

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dalai+lama

He said that during their meeting, he explained to Bush what was happening in Tibet and said he thanked the president for "showing his concern about Tibet."

"We know each other, and we have developed, I think, a very close friendship � something like a reunion of one family," the Dalai Lama said, speaking of Bush.

CONT'D ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_dalai_lama
;_ylt=AuoMDp.zwkO86YHabPAceVaWwvIE

[igotthisguitar]

Tibetan Quits Pageant Over China Title
By ASHOK SHARMA, Associated Press Writer
Wed Dec 5, 3:44 PM ET



NEW DELHI - A Tibetan woman said Wednesday that she pulled out of a beauty pageant in Malaysia after organizers, reacting to pressure from Beijing, told her halfway through the event that she could only participate if she added "China" to her "Miss Tibet" title.

Tsering Chungtak, 22, was allowed to participate in the preliminary rounds of the Miss Tourism contest for one week, but was later told by the organizers to either wear a sash labeled "Miss Tibet-China" or quit, she told reporters after her return to the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Malaysian government officials were not immediately available for comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/tibet_beauty_pageant;_ylt=AgpeE.BjFmFbu7n5ksXOfx1hr7sF

[igotthisguitar]

China Cracks Down After Bjork's Tibet Chant

SHANGHAI, China - China will be stricter on foreign performers after Icelandic singer Bjork shouted "Tibet! Tibet!" at the end of her concert in Shanghai this week, the government said Friday.

A statement by China's Culture Ministry said Bjork's outburst "broke Chinese law and ... hurt Chinese people's feelings."



Bjork shouted "Tibet!" after a passionate performance of her song "Declare Independence" on Sunday. The outburst drew rare public attention inside China to Beijing's often harsh rule over the Himalayan region.

The statement, posted on the Culture Ministry's Web site, also said "there is no country that admits that Tibet is an 'independent country.'"

Bjork has performed the song to support other independence movements in the past. She dedicated the song to Kosovo while performing last month in Japan. The lyrics include the phrase "Raise your flag!"

China's 58-year rule over Tibet has drawn frequent condemnation from foreign governments and activists, often inciting a prickly nationalism among the Chinese government and ordinary people. Many Tibetans consider the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama as their rightful leader.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080307/ap_en_ce/people_bjork_tibet
;_ylt=AvR568bgdaId21cbyvi1eqxxFb8C

[igotthisguitar]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/indiatibetchinadalaipoliticsanniversary;_ylt=Av_8MYkmnsH.SccRgif4gbkDW7oF