PROPAGANDA CONFRONTED

December 16, 2001
For Immediate Release:
PROPAGANDA CONFRONTED
Confront the Propaganda in Front of the Propaganda was a success !
The UAA statement was read beside the Tomb of Apak Ghoja exhibit. It will be distributed in a separate email by the UAA. A statement from the Office of Tibet was also read in front of the Potala Palace exhibit, the text from this statement is attached.
When we arrived, the parking lot was almost empty and we did not see any people walking around Suzhou Gardens. Without incident we proceeded to gain entry and then we made our way to appropriate exhibits.
The park is being cleaned up. The large Mongolian Yurt exhibit has been cleaned up with the removal of the rotting timbers and by filling in the original hole with concrete. The view in the rear of the structure reveals Boke armor.
Behind the Id Gah Mosque exhibit, we were confronted with a unique sight, a bucket of East Turkestani figurines filled to the top with water. While it might be said that they were being cleaned, but the water had been sitting for some time. For one keen observer, it appears that someone is trying to tell the truth, perhaps by symbolically showing the Uyghur people as being rounded up and covered with water, just like in East Turkestan. Just like it is hidden in the PRC, the bucket was at the back of the exhibit when we got there.
Some pictures are on the demonstration page. The park was very quiet for tourist season, none of the Splendid China owned shops were even open by the time we left and only one other vendor had opened their shop.
A VHS tape is available that contains the statements as read in Splendid China and a copy of the October 2000 'A Visit to Florida Splendid China' video. Coming to YouTube Soon!
Discussions concerning internet distribution of the videos will be entertained.

Bod Rangzen !
Jack Churchward
Coordinator, Citizens Against Communist Chinese Propaganda

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STATEMENT AT FLORIDA SPLENDID CHINA

Since the Chinese occupation of Tibet in the 1950's, China has committed gross violations of the human rights of the Tibetan people. Following the September 11 attacks in the US, the Chinese Government has renewed its campaign against Tibetans. During the 9th National Peoples Congress meeting on October 27, 2001, the state council approved China's decision to join the international campaign against terrorism. China made it clear that this campaign would be targeting "splittists and fanaticists."
The people of Tibet, under the guidance and leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace Laureate, have maintained a nonviolent struggle in an effort to gain the basic human rights outlined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, the People's Republic of China equates the struggle to assume these rights as grounds for brutality, imprisonment, and even death. Since September 11, non-governmental organizations have documented widespread detention of Tibetans. On September 21, 2001 alone, CNN News Agency reported that the Chinese Government arrested more than 100 Tibetans who were said to be involved in "separatist activities."
The Tibetan Government-in-Exile, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and the international community are concerned about the People's Republic of China's definition of "terrorism" and we are not alone. During an official visit to China on November 8, United Nations High Commissioner Mary Robinson warned China that it should not use this opportunity as a pretext for suppressing peaceful movements of ethnic groups. She also expressed deep concern about the situation of the Tibetan people.
The Tibetan Government-in-Exile denounce the Chinese propaganda that says Tibetans are 'terrorists.' Taiwan, Inner Mongolia, and East Turkestan are placed under the same terrorist umbrella by the Chinese government because of our combined goal to obtain self-determination. We urge interested parties to examine the true situation instead of accepting the agenda of the Chinese government.