október 31, 2003
The red and the green...
A small riot, riotously misreported in the 'Gran' as a clash between Free Tibet protesters and Chinese supporters. Odd that the Tibetans are all holding Taiwanese flags...
Sunday, I stumbled across 2-300 people or so along a roadblock opposite the Sheraton where the Chinese leader Hu Jintao was staying. There was a fair bit of good natured yelling between the Chinese and Taiwanese factions. The atmosphere was not unlike a football game. I stopped to chat with some of the Tibetan protesters present - no more than 10, or 15 if you include the Amnesty International crew (As anybody involved with Amnesty was wearing a red gag, we'll leave them out of this story).
The most touching moment was a flag carrying Chinese teen asking what the Taiwanese flag carried by a fellow teen represented...
Things started to get a little heated when a tawanese news crew approached supportes for interviews and the Chinese faction tries to drown them out with chanting....
What happened next was not helped by a Mandarin speaking Tibet supporter who had obtained a megaphone....
Folks were pretty heated before that, however. A riot (small) ensues. The abundant police move in....
I guess having the leader of China about to turn up, prompts quick action and politeness, before any full scale warfare, and other excuses for arrests occur. I had been handed a Free Tibet flag to wave, and was standing between the Chinese and Taiwanese when the police marched in. One of them said "Excuse me (authoritive, i admit, but still good manners). Which side do you want to be on?".
Posted by nic at 31.10.03 00:18