Salt Lake protesters trade harsh words on Tibet
One group was participating in the Salt Lake stop for the Human Rights Torch Relay. The group's Web site describes itself as a "global grassroots campaign to raise awareness of, and stop, the Chinese communist regime's human-rights crimes prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics."
Organizers in Salt Lake held a short march Sunday morning that included many advocates for an independent Tibet, followed by a rally at the Salt Lake City-County Building. Aubry Yarper helped plan the event and said the march had about 500 participants and was intended to be a quiet symbol of support. But some heckling came from members of another group which had gathered to support China and take issue with its critics.
"We made it clear that we wanted it to be a peaceful, silent march," Yarper said. "The Chinese and Tibetans were interacting with each other ... there were a lot of harsh words."
Yarper noted that the exchanges did not escalate past verbal jabs.
As the march concluded, police sequestered the pro-China group, which had grown to about 100, on the west side of Library Square, while the marchers gathered for their rally on the other side of the City-County Building. Unseasonably cold and windy weather had driven off all but about 60 of the marchers, who heard talks from state legislators, activists and educators. State Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake, told the crowd that it is the imperative for those who enjoy freedom to defend the right for others.
Patrice Luong of Salt Lake City read a speech composed by a formerly imprisoned member of Falun Gong — a religious group outlawed by the Chinese government. The author of the speech asked for anonymity, citing safety concerns, and outlined the plight of Falun Gong members.
"Millions of ordinary, noble and kind people are undergoing shameless hardship," Luong read. "Some are even willing to sacrifice their lives to tell the truth ... not for themselves, but for everyone in the world."
As the rally progressed, a small contingent of pro-China advocates gathered at the fringe of the crowd and voiced their disagreement with some of the speakers' points. The group included University of Utah students Mingkun Want and Yifan Shi. Both expressed concern about rhetoric they perceived as being one-sided and the use of the Olympics as a political tool.
"Suddenly, because of the Olympics, China is full of problems," Shi said.
Wang would like to see more dialogue, and less finger-pointing.
"We're hoping that another voice can be heard," Wang said. "The Western media has not been neutral ... that's all we want."
Following the event, Salt Lake City Police Lt. Dave Hoffman said officers encountered no major problems between the two factions.
"Generally, if we've got two groups who are opposing each other, we try to create some space," Hoffman said. "We also want to do everything we can to ensure everyone's free speech rights."
E-mail: araymond@desnews.com
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