Free Tibet Activists Detained in Beijing for Protesting Opening of China's Tibet Railway
Three people detained;
Banner unfurled from Beijing Central Rail Station facade; China's Tibet railway facing scathing criticism
June 30, 2006, Hong
Kong -- Tibet activists scaled the facade of Beijings Central Railway
Station and unfurled a banner reading Chinas Tibet Railway: Designed
to Destroy." The protest was held on the eve of the launch of the new
rail line that will link, for the first time, Beijing and Lhasa.
Tibetans fear that the Chinese Government will use the railway to
further its colonization of Tibet by moving in ever-larger numbers of
Chinese settlers and military personnel while transporting out Tibets
vast natural resources. Police detained three women from the U.S,
Canada and the U.K.; they were released a short while later and are now
safely back in their respective countries.
The Chinese government will begin operations of their railway to Tibet
this July 1st. Rise up and show your solidarity with Tibetans in Tibet
by REJECTING THE RAILWAY
through global demonstrations at
Chinese embassies and consulates on July 1st. Help us show Beijing that
while they may have completed the railway, the fight is not over and
Tibetans will continue to resist China's illegal occupation of Tibet. Take Action Now to express your opposition to the railway.
Photo: Ama Adhe in solidarity, Freedom Fighter, spent 27 years in prison in Tibet.
July 1st - A Black Day for Tibet
Show your solidarity with Tibetans suffering under Chinese
occupation by wearing a black armband from now until July
1st. The Chinese government claims that this railway will benefit
Tibetans and is a project that all Tibetans want. They tell the media and the world that the railway will bring progress
and positive benefits to Tibetans. But we know the truth: China's
railway to
Tibet is not meant to benefit Tibetans and is only meant to consolidate
Beijing's control over the region.
Send your armband photos to: sftphotos@gmail.com
Photo:Dolma Choephel, spent 28 days on hunger-strike at the United Nations
Tibet Protests Rock Bombardier's Annual General Meeting
May 30 - Tibetans and their supporters protested inside and outside Bombardier's AGM in Montreal, drawing attention to the company's complicity in China's occupation of Tibet. With the railway launch set for July 1st, demonstrators demanded Bombardier immediately implement safeguards to ensure the rail line isn't used by the Chinese government as a tool of repression and cultural genocide in Tibet. A proposed resolution calling on Bombardier to adopt a human rights policy, binding them to international human rights and corporate social responsibility standards was rejected. At this point, two SFT members disrupted the meeting, unfurling a Tibetan flag and yelling "Shame on Bombardier, Tibetan's will hold you accountable for your actions in Tibet". For more details and photos, check out SFT's blog.
photo copyright Natalie Bianco
News Flash: SFT Canada confronts Chinese Ambassador and Bombardier during business luncheon in Montreal!
February 5th - SFT Canada's Jessica Spanton made front page of the business section of the Montreal Gazette today after disrupting a business luncheon featuring China's Ambassador to China, Lu Shumin. The luncheon, sponsored by Bombardier, was attended by over 400 business people looking for tips on how to make it big in the Chinese marketplace. The opportunity to publicly expose the Chinese government for who they really are - ruthless dictators and to shame Bombardier for their involvement in the Tibet railway was too great to miss. Unfurling a Tibetan flag, Jessica stood up and yelled "Shame on China! Shame on Bombardier!" in front of the "silent stunned crowd". Click here to read the full article.
Send a holiday card to Bombardier CEO!
Tell Bombardier CEO, Laurent Beaudoin, to have heart this holiday
season and end
Bombardier's involvement in the China-Tibet railway. Click below to
download a special edition card. Add you're own "Don't be a Grinch"
message and pop it in the mail today.
Click here to download card in colour.
Click here to download card in black and white.
For instructions on how to fold card, click here!
**Click here to read the beloved North American children's story "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Also, check out the uncanny resemblance between Bombardier's CEO and the Grinch!
CLICK HERE to read Bombardier's internal memo about the International Day of Action of November 3rd, 2005
Take Action! Tell Bombardier Out of Tibet Now
Join the global effort to get Bombardier to withdraw its involvement in the China-Tibet railway.Click here for more details on how to get involved! Why are Tibetans and Tibet supporters so opposed to this railway? Click here for background information.
Click here
to see photos and read reports of actions at Bombardier offices around
the world as part of the November 3rd Bombardier International Day of
Action.
Help spread the word to stop Bombardier!
Download this cartoon and flyerand post them up in your community to educate people about Bombardier and the railway.
One
of the most threatening projects undertaken by the Chinese government
in Tibet is construction of a railway from Gormo to Lhasa, Tibet's capital, that will connect Tibet for the first time with China's
nationwide railway grid. The project is part of China's Western
Development Campaign, which aims to consolidate China's political and
military power over Tibet. Now, four companies Canadai, Bombardier, Power Corporation, and Nortel, and U.S. corporate
giant GE have announced their involvement.
Bombardier, a
manufacturer of airplanes, recreational vehicles and rail
transportation equipment, will lead a consortium that includes Power
Corporation of Canada, a financial holding company, and state-owned
China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation,
to supply the Chinese Ministry of Railways with 361 specially designed
rail cars for the Tibet line. Nortel Networks, a global
telecommunications provider, will supply a digital wireless
communications network (GSM-R), while GE will build the locomotives for
the train.
By partnering the Chinese government on the
construction of the railway, these businesses have made themselves
partners in China's occupation of Tibet.
As
with previous railways built in Mongolia and East Turkestan, the Tibet
railway will greatly speed colonization of the area. It will allow
vastly increased numbers of Chinese settlers and military troops to be
brought in, and more natural resources to be exploited and removed from
Tibet, with most economic benefits bypassing the many Tibetans who live
on the outskirts of Tibet's centrally controlled economy, beyond the
reach of the railway. The cost of the railway is almost triple the
amount Beijing spent in the Tibet Autonomous Region on healthcare and
education between 1952 and 2000.
What Can you Do?
These
companies are all susceptible to pressure from individuals - as
consumers and as the employers of government representatives who help
them get wealthy. Please contact the companies by calling them, or
sending letters by mail or fax Tell them not to fund China's
colonization of Tibet!
Download a sample letter or petition.
Keep reading for contact information and talking points.
You can read more in "Crossing the Line: China's Railway to Lhasa, Tibet," published by the International Campaign for Tibet.
Paul Desmarais, Jr., Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Andre Desmarais, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Power Corporation of Canada
751 Victoria Square
Montreal, QC H2Y 2J3 Canada
Phone: 1 514-286-7425
Fax: 1 514-286-7485
Mike Zafirovski President & CEO, Nortel Networks
8200 Dixie Road
Brampton, ON L6T 5P6 Canada
Phone: 1 905-863-1077
Fax: 1 905-863-8407
Ms. Charlene Begley
President and CEO, GE Transportation & Rail
14-440 2901 East Lake Road
Erie, Pennsylvania 16531 USA
Talking points:
1.
At the admission of Chinese government leaders, the Gormo-Lhasa railway
is politically motivated, with a goal of consolidating China's control
over Tibet. It is opposed by Tibetans both inside and outside Tibt.
2.
The railway will facilitate increased population transfer of Chinese
settlers into Tibet, further marginalizing Tibetans physically,
socially, and economically and posing a threat to the survival of their
culture and identity.
3. The railway will facilitate the exploitation and removal of natural resources that belong to Tibetans.
4.
The railway will improve China's military maneuverability, enable rapid
troop deployments, and facilitate the expansion of People's Liberation
Army bases and increases in nuclear weapons stockpiles and missile
deployments on the Tibetan plateau.
5. The railway is expected
to cause widespread erosion, damage to vegetation, disruption of
migration patterns, and contamination of water bodies including the
Drichu (Yangtse), Ngochu (Salween), and Zachu (Mekong) rivers, sources
of water for more than one billion people.
6. Western companies should not be partnering the Chinese government in this scheme.
July 1st - Reject China's Railway to Tibet 
Take Action! Tell Bombardier Out of Tibet Now
