New York – In the lead up to the one-year countdown to the 2008 Games, prominent Tibetan independence activist Lhadon Tethong is in Beijing to investigate and expose China’s Tibet-related Olympics propaganda. Tibetan rights advocates assert that the Chinese government is attempting to use the 2008 Olympics to legitimize its illegal occupation of Tibet and gain acceptance as a leader on the international stage despite its standing as one of the world’s worst human rights abusers.  

As the Chinese government gears up for next week’s celebrations, Tibetans and people of conscience around the world are calling on China and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take immediate steps to address the issue of Tibet. Tethong will be reporting from Beijing on her new blog, BeijingWideOpen.org, despite the inherent risk of doing so in China, notorious for its lack of freedom of expression. Ms. Tethong is the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) and a high-profile leader in the international Tibet movement.

“I've traveled to the heart of the nation that has brutally occupied my homeland for over 50 years,” said Ms. Tethong on her blog. “The Chinese government hopes the glow of the Olympics will blind the international community to the brutality of its occupation of Tibet. We cannot let this happen. We must speak out and fight back. We must challenge them at every turn… and that’s why I’m here.”

“The IOC must not allow the Chinese authorities to use the Olympics to promote China’s false image as a free and open society and Tibetans as happy and prosperous under Chinese rule,” said Tenzin Dorjee of SFT. “The Olympic dream of Tibetans is freedom by August 2008, and we call on the IOC and the global community to help us make this a reality.” Dorjee and four other Americans were held by Chinese authorities for two days in April after a protest on Mt. Everest against China’s plans to summit the mountain as part of the Olympic torch relay.

Tibet has figured prominently in China's Olympics-related public relations strategy. “With plans to summit Tibet's Mt. Everest with the Olympic torch, the decision to use the Tibetan antelope as an official mascot, and the littering of Olympics advertising with images of happy, smiling Tibetans, it's clear that the Chinese government is attempting to use the Beijing Olympics to underscore its claims to Tibet." said Lhadon Tethong from Beijing.

In 2001, the IOC awarded Beijing the honor of hosting the 2008 Olympic Games despite opposition from Tibet supporters and human rights advocates. In 2002, IOC President Jacques Rogge said, “We are convinced that the Olympic Games will improve human rights in China.” According to a report released by Human Rights Watch yesterday, “the Chinese government shows no substantive progress in addressing long-standing human rights concerns.”

Tibetans and supporters worldwide are organizing protests between now and the August 8th countdown, demanding a solution to the occupation by the start of the Beijing Games. Events are planned for dozens of cities, from Delhi to Tokyo, Mexico City to Brussels, Paris to Cape Town.

Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is a network of young people and activists campaigning for Tibetan independence, with 650 chapters in more than thirty countries worldwide. SFT is based in New York, with offices in Vancouver, London, and Dharamsala, India.