The following letter in today’s Age newspaper simply explains Kevin Rudd’s selective belief in human rights: How dare Kevin Rudd tell the Chinese that there have been human rights violations in Tibet. Would he do the same and tell the Israelis that there are gross human rights violations in Palestine? On the contrary, at a…
Showing all posts tagged Tibet
Silencing the occupied
While the Chinese people are mainly hostile to the Tibetan cause and nationalism is thriving, some savvy tech-heads are causing chaos: Several websites running pro-Tibet campaigns have been targeted by internet criminals, it has been claimed. Experts at ScanSafe, an internet security firm, said that two popular websites – SaveTibet.org and FreeTibet.org – have been…
The torch, boycotts and Tibet
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: The Beijing Games is shaping up as a public relations disaster for the Chinese Communist Party. Four months from the opening ceremony and global protests against the torch relay are gathering speed. Tibetan activists are successfully highlighting their cause…
Some liberation movements are more equal than others
Leading Israeli commentator Uri Avnery on the Tibetan protests: I support the Tibetans in spite of it being obvious that the Americans are exploiting the struggle for their own purposes. Clearly, the CIA has planned and organized the riots, and the American media are leading the world-wide campaign. It is a part of the hidden…
Net censorship: the basics
My following article appears in the Amnesty International Australia’s Uncensor campaign about human rights in China: 1996 was dubbed China’s “Year of the Internet.” Only 150,000 people were connected, roughly one in 10,000. The vast majority of the mainland had never seen a computer and there were 17 people for every available phone line. A…
Finding a difference
Medialens, April 1: On March 22, an Economist magazine editorial described the recent violence in Tibet as a “colonial uprising”, a “revolt” against foreign occupation. This was accurate, as was the implication that China has no legitimate claims over Tibet. (”˜A colonial uprising – Tibet,’ The Economist, March 22, 2008) By contrast, recent media coverage…
Don’t speak out of turn
If true, this leak to Reporters Without Borders is a revealing insight into a totalitarian mindset: Reporters Without Borders has obtained a classified memo from Chinese sources that sets out the behaviour that government officials should adopt with foreign journalists before and during the Beijing Olympic Games. It tells them to display openness but also…
CNN in their sights
After the recent Chinese crackdown in Tibet, CNN has become a target of Chinese rage over its perceived anti-Beijing coverage. Bloggers are equally vitriolic.