Taiwan Friends of Tibet (TFOT) members and Tibetans living in Taiwan yesterday greeted Chinese tourists visiting Taipei 101 with banners urging the Chinese government to allow the Dalai Lama to go home and to stop “cultural genocide” in Tibet.
TFOT members held up two yellow banners with the slogans “Let the Dalai Lama go home” and “stop ‘cultural genocide’ in Tibet” — in both Chinese and English — across the street from Taipei 101 yesterday afternoon.
The banners were visible from across the street and soon attracted the attention of many passers-by and visitors to the landmark.
At the same time, other TFOT members, along with Tibetans living in Taiwan, also handed out flyers to Chinese tourists getting off buses explaining the views of Tibetan activists on questions such as whether Tibet has always been part of China, whether recent development projects and construction pushed by the Chinese government benefit Tibetans and whether the Dalai Lama is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and a “separatist,” as the Chinese government alleges.
Most Chinese quickly walked away or refused to take the flyers, while some accepted them, read them briefly and then discarded them.
While the majority declined to comment when approached by the Taipei Times, an elderly man from Shaanxi Province surnamed Zhang (張) said he took the flyer because he likes history and wanted to see what the activists had to say.
“I only read it because I like history, but I disagree with their point of view,” he said. “Tibet has always been part of China, that’s an historical fact.”
Before he could elaborate, Zhang was pulled away by his wife, who told him “not to talk so much.”
Another Chinese tourist said he refused to take a flyer because “it’s propaganda by Tibetan separatists.”
An elderly man who said he was originally from Shanghai but now lives in Canada showed a friendlier attitude toward the activists and told Taiwanese to be more careful when dealing with China.
“Taiwan could become like today’s Tibet if you don’t handle your interactions with China well,” he said. “I don’t think I should talk more because there are too many Chinese here.”
Clearly worried, his wife also told her husband not to say anything more and seemed eager to walk away.
While the Chinese were not enthusiastic about the flyers, some Taiwanese passers-by did not hesitate to show their support for the activists.
“I’m taking pictures of them because I support them. I think they are very brave,” a high school teacher surnamed Lu (魯) said.
A young man stopped, watched the activists for a while and then joined them in handing out flyers.
“We didn’t think many Chinese tourists would actually take the flyers, because we understand that most Chinese have been brainwashed by their government and they may just not like it when they see a sensitive issue like that of Tibetan,” TFOT chairwoman Chow Mei-li (周美里) said. “This is only the beginning — the beginning for them to see something different amid enhanced cross-strait exchanges.”
“We also hope they can see how different ideas can spread freely in this country. This could serve as inspiration after they return home,” she said.
Rinchen, a Tibetan woman who was born in India and has been in Taiwan for more than three years, said she was glad to make a contribution to her country.
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