March 31, 2008 was a global day of action for Tibet. In Madison, the Wisconsin Tibetan Association and Students for a Free Tibet chapter held candlelight vigils downtown on March 30 and 31.
• Log on to your Facebook account. If you don't have an account already, please open one at www.facebook.com • Once you're logged in, go to: apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/47691 • Donate $10 to the Tibetan Freedom Movement. The $50,000 award will be given away on Friday, February 1st, so please donate before then. In order to win the $50,000 award, which can fund two high-profile direct actions at the Beijing Olympics, we need more "unique" or first-time donors. Please help us find these new people. What is Facebook's Causes Giving Challenge? As many of you know, we have been presented a unique fundraising opportunity through Facebook. The Case Foundation has committed $250,000 to a donation challenge for non-profit organizations. The way this contest works is as follows. For every 24 hour period until February 1, 2008, from 2pm CST to 2pm CST on the following day, the non-profit organization with the most unique donors wins $1000 from Facebook. Over the 50 day period running until February 1, 2008, the organization with the most unique donors receives $50,000, second most unique donors receives $25,000, and third through fifth most unique donors receives $10,000. |
Talent Show
James Madison Memorial High School
201 South Gammon Road
Saturday, November 17, 2007
5:00 - 7:30 PM
$10 general admission
$7 for 6 - 12 year olds
Free for children under 6
The Talent Show will include performances by local Tibetan singers and dancers, Hindi dancing, and more. We will also be showing the 20 minute documentary Blood Over Nangpa-la.
White Tee Dance Party
Neighborhood House
29 South Mills Street
Saturday, November 17, 2007
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
$10 without a white t-shirt
$8 with a white t-shirt on
This party will not only have an awesome DJ and dancing, it’s gonna look awesome. Wear a white t-shirt and the black lights we have all over the room will make you glow like a star.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Students for a Free Tibet had our most ambitious and successful semester in recent memory. At the beginning of the semester we made a laundry list of goals. To our own surprise, we were able to reach the majority of these goals (China hasn't left Tibet, so our work is not done yet :)
China muscles Parisi
By David Caleader and Judith Davidoff
The Capital Times
March 24, 2007
State lawmakers pass all manner of symbolic resolutions during the legislative session – calling on Congress to act or not act on certain issues, praising fallen soldiers and former public figures, congratulating sports teams on victories, and commemorating various historical events.
But a resolution passed earlier this month commemorating the 1959 Tibetan uprising against China prompted an unscheduled visit by authorities from the Chinese consulate in Chicago to the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison.
Parisi said the two officials, who identified themselves as part of the consulate’s education and communications offices, “expressed their disappointment that I had authored the resolution.”
He said they sought to change his views on the ongoing occupation of Tibet by China.
Parisi said the session was different from a routine lobbying visit.
“It was much more firm than that,” he said. “They were here to tell me that I was wrong, that I had been misled by the Tibetans in this community, and that I needed to be set straight.”
China has consistently taken the position that Tibet was part of China and that the 1959 uprising was fueled by Western forces, including the CIA.
Many Tibetans, however, contend that the occupation is illegal and that the exiled Dalai Lama is the nation’s legitimate ruler.
Parisi said he urged the Chinese officials to open negotiations with the Dalai Lama and pressed for information about the recent murder of a teenage Buddhist nun who was reportedly shot by Chinese troops while trying to flee Tibet.
Parisi said the Chinese officials told him they were unfamiliar with the incident involving the nun and claimed that past efforts to meet with the Dalai Lama were unproductive.
China Takes Notice of Wisconsin’s Tibet Day
By Abigail Scott
Madison, WI - In a time when the efficacy of non-binding resolutions is being debated across the United States, a simple resolution declaring March 10, 2007 Tibet Day in Wisconsin brings response from halfway around the globe.
On Tuesday, March 13, two officials from the Chinese Consulate drove from Chicago to the State Capitol in Madison, WI. They wanted to know who was responsible for the unanimously passed Tibet Day resolution (Assembly Joint Resolution 22). In fact, they had it in their hands. They were directed to the office of the lead sponsor of the resolution, State Representative Joe Parisi (D-Madison).
Chinese officials told Parisi he has the wrong idea about Tibet, that it was liberated and the Tibetans are happy and prospering economically. “They came to show disapproval of my efforts,” Parisi said.
Parisi asked the officials why China will not meet with the Dalai Lama. They told him that China does not like the views of the Dalai Lama and that the Dalai Lama wants all of the Han Chinese to leave the Tibet Autonomous Region, which China considers impossible.
Parisi also asked the Chinese officials where the Panchen Lama is. The Panchen Lama, the lama responsible for selecting the next Dalai Lama, was recognized as a 6-year-old boy in 1995 by the current Dalai Lama. Immediately after he was recognized, the Panchen Lama was kidnapped by the Chinese Government. In 2002, a Chinese official told the BBC that he was placed under house arrest and “very happy.”
At first, the two Chinese officials told Parisi the Panchen Lama is in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Parisi persisted and clarified, telling them that the Panchen Lama the Chinese Government selected was not the one he was referring to. The officials then told Parisi that the Panchen Lama is free and living in India. Finally, Parisi asked them about the Chinese Army’s shooting of Tibetan immigrants at the border of Nepal and Tibet, Nangpa-la Pass. Parisi specifically asked them about the 17 year old Buddhist nun who was shot and killed, Kelsang Namtso. The Chinese officials said they were not aware of the incident.
Parisi also said that the Chinese officials came to “lobby against the passage of the (Tibet Day) resolution, but it had already passed.” Wisconsin has unanimously passed a Tibet Day joint resolution for the past 3 years.
“China is worried about their image, especially with the Olympics coming up,” Parisi said.
Abigail Scott is a member of Students for a Free Tibet, an international, chapter-based network of young people and activists who campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom. She can be contacted at abi.scott@gmail.com.
Watch Representative Parisi's speech on the Tibet Day Resolution
With chants of “China out of Tibet” and “No Olympics for China,” approximately 250 Free Tibet supporters rallied on State Street Saturday morning to protest the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
The rally was part of globally recognized Tibetan Uprising Day, commemorating March 10, 1959, when more than 100,000 Tibetans gave their lives in a peaceful, non-violent uprising against China’s invasion of Tibet.
Rallies like the one in Madison occurred all over the world Saturday, according to Wisconsin Tibetan Association member Sherab Lhatsang.
Tom Boman, a member of Madison’s chapter of Students for a Free Tibet, said this year’s demonstration was two-fold.
“One, we are hoping to introduce the 2008 Olympics campaign in Beijing, where there will be a series of protests,” Boman said. “The other [aspect] is to revitalize the movement as people have gotten comfortable with themselves — so we are trying to get them active again.”
In addition to Madison’s SFT, members of WTA participated in the rally. Both groups said the rally was an effort to raise public awareness and push for a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“We want to show that we will fight for our country to preserve our culture and preserve our traditions, which were destroyed by the Chinese,” WTA President Tenzing Lobsang said. “China is the worst country in the world regarding human rights, and all democratic, freedom-loving countries should boycott the Olympics given that.”
According to Asius Vangio, a member of Madison’s SFT, Saturday’s event was a success.
“With his Holiness the Dalai Lama coming here in May, I think that this is going to draw a lot of attention to SFT and the Tibetan community in Madison in general,” Vangio said.
After marching down State Street, the demonstrators went to the state Capitol to hear from a variety of speakers, including Madison Democratic state representatives Spencer Black and Joe Parisi — both of whom helped pass a resolution labeling March 10 as Wisconsin Tibet Day.
“We are looking for a free Tibet for Tibetan people to have the right to preserve their heritage and worship as they wish on their own land,” Parisi said.
Other speakers included two University of Wisconsin students — Tenzin Dhanze and Tenzin Woeser — as well as Vangio and longtime Tibetan supporter Chris Hall.
While he acknowledged a boycott of the Olympics in China is not likely, Dhanze said it would probably be more successful to get individual athletes to refuse to compete.
According to WTA Secretary Dechen Choedon, the protesters, more than 90 percent of whom were American citizens, chose to show their American pride by carrying a United States flag and singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“Now we are a part of the U.S.,” Choedon said. “It is our way of honoring and respecting the nation in our own way.”
Since March 10 landed on a Saturday, many younger supporters were able to attend, which WTA and SFT said was important and encouraging for their purpose.
“It gives us a lot of hope that the second generation is actually carrying our struggle,” Lhatsang said. “[The struggle] is not going to end — they are going to carry that forward as long as Tibet is not free, which is inspirational to us as well.”
According to Lhatsang, the main issues facing the Tibetan people include a lack of freedoms, a poor school system and brothels. Lhatsang added — with a large influx of Chinese people — Tibetans are slowly becoming a minority in their own land.
“[Tibetans] who try to bring their children into India to Tibetan schools can be prosecuted,” Lhatsang said. “Even if you have a picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, you can be locked up for 10 to 20 years.”
The purpose of this blog is to create an avenue of discussion and information transfer to other Students for a Free Tibet chapters, especially in the Midwest USA.
We also would like you to check out our chapter's website at http://sft.rso.wisc.edu
Please feel free to email us at sft.uwmadison (at) gmail.com, or comment on one of our posts. We will be checking often, so your words will not fall on deaf ears. We would LOVE to hear from you.
