A Taiwanese artist has created a giant inflatable depiction of the iconic “tank man” scene to mark 30 years since China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The photo of a man standing in front of a tank in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square became one of the most famous photos of the 20th Century, the BBC reports.
Chinese authorities should immediately release Tibetan monks and other peaceful critics arbitrarily imprisoned since the March 2008 protests across the Tibetan plateau, Human Rights Watch said today:
The number of Tibetans wrongfully imprisoned in connection with the 2008 protests remains difficult to assess, as is obtaining the details of their cases. Information about sentences from Tibetan areas is tightly restricted, and people who report detentions and prosecutions to others abroad are themselves at risk of arrest. China’s official media only reported some of the 2008 sentences, usually with no further details. The Human Rights Watch compilation of Tibetan political prisoners relies on reports received from local sources despite the government’s censorship and intimidation.
“Tibetans who did nothing more than call peacefully for their human rights to be respected have been unjustly sentenced to long prison terms,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “The Chinese authorities should immediately free these prisoners.”
Since the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949, the world has observed China’s brutal repression of religious and ethnic minorities. In the 60 years since the Dalai Lama was forced into exile, the Tibetan people have faced a systematic effort to destroy their culture, religion, and autonomy. More recently, reports have revealed the disturbing details of the China’s imprisonment of millions of Uyghurs from East Turkistan in modern-day concentration camps, where ordinary citizens are tortured and subject to relentless “assimilation” tactics, and outside the camps, the CCP has established an Orwellian police state.
The National Endowment for Democracy is proud to honor the efforts of three outstanding organizations that are confronting these authoritarian tactics on the front lines, empowering Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese Christians with technical, financial, and moral support to defend their rights, preserve their culture, and live their faith amidst the daily assault on their very existence. RSVP
Tue, June 4, 2019. 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT Add to Calendar
Location: United States Capitol, First Street Southeast, HC-5, Washington, DC 20004 View Map
All guests must be pre-registered online, no exceptions. Please arrive early to provide enough time for security screenings. Event is by invitation only and invite is non-transferable. For more information please email ZachE@ned.org
All cameras and media must register with NED public affairs. Please email press@ned.org to register as a member of the press.
About the Honorees
Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international non-profit Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China. Over the past 17 years, ChinaAid’s mission has evolved to one of exposing human rights abuses and promoting truth, justice, and freedom by advocating for religious freedom and the rule of law. ChinaAid continues to work for the immediate release of prisoners of conscience, equip human rights defenders and religious and community leaders with religious freedom and rule of law training, rescue and resettle persecuted leaders and their families, encourage families of prisoners of conscience by providing financial assistance, and exposing abuse by featuring unique stories of persecution and injustice on ChinaAid’s website and through social media. Accepting the award on behalf of ChinaAid is founder and president Bob Fu.
Founded in 2009, the Tibet Action Institute (TAI) brings together digital communication tools with strategic nonviolent action to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of the Tibet movement in a digital era. TAI’s team, comprised of technologists and human rights advocates, develops and advances open-source communication technologies, nonviolent strategies, and innovative training programs for Tibetans with a particular focus on digital security and harnessing the power of digital technologies. Accepting the award on behalf of the Tibet Action Institute is TAI director Lhadon Tethong.
Founded in April 2004 in Munich, Germany, after the East Turkistan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress merged into one united organization, the World Uyghur Congress’s (WUC) primary focus is to promote democracy, human rights and freedom for the Uyghur people and support the use of peaceful, nonviolent, and democratic means to help Uyghurs achieve self-determination. WUC is the sole representative organization of the Uyghur people globally and has made crucial contributions to bringing attention to the CCP’s crushing campaign of physical, religious, linguistic, and cultural repression against the Uyghur people. Accepting the award on behalf of the World Uyghur Congress is WUC president Dolkun Isa.
