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Beijing update: New detentions, 6 US protesters missing, Tibetan protesters 
in Tibet reportedly shot dead.
Posted by Xeni Jardin, August 20, 2008 12:56 PM | permalink
A quick update on previous BB posts (one http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/19/grls-james-powderly.html, two 
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/19/beijing-activists-de.html, three 
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/19/beijing-alive-in-bag.html) about American tech-artists and activists detained for 
pro-Tibet protests in Beijing. A Students for a Free Tibet spokesperson tells Boing Boing:

    Everyone listed here is still missing.
http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/citizenjournalists/
    - James Powderly
    - Brian Conley
    - Jeffrey Rae
    - Jeff Goldin
    - Michael Liss
    - Tom Grant

    They were all working in Beijing in different ways, as citizen journalists and activists. My opinion at this point 
is they are being held longer than other detained activists because they all had much more gear - macbooks, eee pc's, HD 
video cameras, digital SLR cams... standard stuff in most places, but I can imagine it raises a lot of eyebrows to the 
authorities in China, especially when related to protests and Tibet.

    We are in active touch with the US Embassy in Bejing the the US State Department... the big deadline we are just 
hitting 48 hours right now, so 24 hours left until the 3 day mark.

    The activists who deployed the LED banner have all already been sent 
home, arriving in JFK right about now.

And below, word of additional, new detentions of a Tibetan-German activist and two others from the United States. Snip 
from SFT announcement:
http://freetibet2008.org/
    Beijing – After intense surveillance by up to 50 plainclothes police, a Tibetan-German man and two pro-Tibet 
activists protested tonight near the Bird’s Nest stadium. The three raised their fists in the air, unfurled a Tibetan 
flag, and called out “Free Tibet” at approximately 12:05 am Beijing time. A fourth Tibet activist who observed the 
protest was detained by police at the scene. The four were taken away in a police vehicle and their whereabouts are unknown.

    The four are Tibetan-German Florien Norbu Gyanatshang, 30, American Jeremy Wells, 38, American John Watterberg, 30, 
and Briton Mandie McKeown, 41.

    “Against all odds, a Tibetan has once again raised our outlawed national flag in Beijing tonight,” said Lhadon 
Tethong, the Tibetan-Canadian Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “This action symbolises the determination 
and steadfast commitment of the Tibetan people and our supporters from around the world to achieve freedom and justice 
for six million Tibetans living under the brutal rule of the Chinese government.”

    Tibetans and Tibet supporters have defied the best efforts of the Chinese authorities to silence all voices of 
dissent during the Olympic Games, staging eight protests in Beijing over the past two weeks. The protests have ranged 
from technically-challenging banner hangs to a dramatic “die-in” at Tiananmen Square. Surveillance efforts by Chinese 
authorities increased dramatically over the past few days.

    “The Chinese government is petrified of these peaceful acts of defiance simply because they represent the true 
feelings of Tibetans inside Tibet,” said Tenzin Dorjee, Deputy Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “Our protests are 
a reminder to the world of the tragic reality of the Chinese government’s illegitimate occupation of Tibet and the 
urgent need for the Chinese leadership to seek a resolution with the Tibetan people.”

Lhadon Tethong, director of Students for a Free Tibet, quoted in this New 
York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/sports/olympics/20china.html
    [Tethong] said she was more concerned with the plight of protesters in Tibet. In recent days, she said, at least 
three people have reportedly been killed in the city of Ganzi after protesting on the street. She said one woman, Dolma 
Yungzom, was shot five or six times point blank after she unfurled a banner, though Ms. Tethong provided no evidence.

Watch video updates on FT08tv.

Previously on Boing Boing blog:
* Beijing: "Alive in Baghdad" videoblogger among US citizens detained in 
pro-Tibet protests
* Beijing: Five US activists detained after lighting up "Free Tibet" LED 
Throwies banner near Olympics site
* GRL's James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet "L.A.S.E.R. 
Stencil" art protest

Related episodes of Boing Boing tv:
* BBtv WORLD (Tibet): Inside Lhasa
* Vlog (Xeni): Tibet report - monks forced to participate in staged videos.
* Vlog (Xeni): Tibet's uprising and the internet


Discussion

#15 posted by Antinous , August 20, 2008 2:00 PM

Attention, please

Boing Boing and BBTV have hosted numerous posts on the current situation in Tibet. Those comment threads have touched on 
many issues related to the current and past situation there. Here's a list of some of the livelier discussions about 
this issue:

Protest inside Tibet captured on tourists' cameras
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/11/protest-inside-tibet.html
Police attack peacefully protesting monks in Tibet
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/12/police-attack-peacef.html
Tibet: more deaths, injuries in Lhasa as crackdown grows
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/14/tibet-more-deaths-in.html
Tibet: China blocks YouTube, protests spread, bloggers react
http://boingboing.net/2008/03/16/tibet-china-blocks-y.html
Tibet: nearly 1,000 jailed in Lhasa, Dalai Lama offers to resign
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/18/tibet-nearly-1000-ja.html
To do in SF - Tibet rally on April 8, Richard Gere, Desmond Tutu
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/06/to-do-in-sf-tibet-ra.html
Photo of pro-Tibet protest on Golden Gate Bridge
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/07/photo-of-protibet-pr.html
And of course, the two posts that are currently on BB:
Beijing: Five US activists detained after lighting up "Free Tibet" LED 
Throwies banner near Olympics site
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/19/beijing-activists-de.html
GRL's James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet "L.A.S.E.R. 
Stencil" art protest
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/19/grls-james-powderly.html