yebaah!

Comforted by the knowledge that Canberra is a well-organised, peace-loving city (sometimes touted as boring), I headed to Commonwealth Park this morning to watch the Olympic torch relay. I was greeted by loud shouts of ‘One-China, one-China!’ and a sea of red Chinese flags being waved at the protesters who were also chanting ‘Free Tibet, free Tibet!’

One only has to watch the news on the violence and protests that surround the Olympic torch relay to know that my fears of getting caught in the middle of a riot was well-founded. I’m against the human rights violations in Tibet but I’m also against angry and violent protests.  I’m all for freedom of expression in the most peaceful way.  :D  Violence and anger against other human beings promote the very things we abhor.

My family went to Beijing for a holiday last November and found the Chinese people to be generally peace-loving and friendly (those who realised that we speak no Chinese went out of their way to help us), which convinced me that Tibet is a Chinese government agenda and the suffering of the Tibetans is not something the Chinese people want.

I don’t see any problem using the Olympics as an avenue to protest against the atrocities in Tibet as long as it does not prevent others from also enjoying and sharing the Olympic spirit.   True to its form, Canberra did just that. Pretty sure there were plenty of sore throats and hoarse voices in the end…