Tibetan Bike Rally Protests Beijing Olympics

Over 60 people on bikes set out to raise awareness about the situation in Tibet during the Beijing Olympics.
Tibetan Bike Rally Protests Beijing Olympics
Joshua Philipp
8/18/2008
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/tibet.jpg" alt="FREE TIBET: Wearing T-shirts protesting the Beijing Olympics, activists took to the streets on a bike rally through Manhattan before heading to a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy.  (Joshua Philipp/The Epoch Times)" title="FREE TIBET: Wearing T-shirts protesting the Beijing Olympics, activists took to the streets on a bike rally through Manhattan before heading to a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy.  (Joshua Philipp/The Epoch Times)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1782828"/></a>
FREE TIBET: Wearing T-shirts protesting the Beijing Olympics, activists took to the streets on a bike rally through Manhattan before heading to a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy.  (Joshua Philipp/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—Over 60 people on bikes set out to raise awareness about the situation in Tibet during the Beijing Olympics. Organized by the Tibetan Youth Congress and volunteers, the bike journey began at 10 a.m. in Columbus Circle, and continued towards Battery Park before reaching the final destination at the Chinese Consulate on West 42nd Street.

Each biker wore a shirt in protest of the Beijing Olympics, reading, “Beijing Olympics Genocide Olympics” with “Free Tibet” written across the back. As a part of ongoing protests, Tibetans have gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York with similar protests happening around the world each day.

Tsering Palden from the Tibetan Youth Congress of New York and New Jersey explained the situation in Tibet, mentioning that behind the show of the Olympics, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been intensifying its persecution on groups throughout China.

“In Tibet, in the name of security for the Olympics, they are cracking down on the Tibetan people,” said Palden. “All of the Tibetans are virtually under house arrest. They can’t move around freely.”

“All of the monks and nuns are locked up in the monasteries and they can’t come out because China feels that if they let these people loose, they’re going to rise up against the Communists and make them embarrassed during the Olympics,” said Palden.

Setting off, the bikers split into groups ranging between ten to fifteen people, making their way through the streets of Manhattan with fliers about the CCP’s persecution amidst the Olympics in hand. Palden said that the bike rally was being held to, “. . . create awareness in the City of the oppression and the atrocities that the communist regime is committing in Tibet and to tell the world that the Beijing Olympics are genocide Olympics,” Palden said.

Tibetan native and one of the volunteers for the bike crusade, Tsewang Hendechen expressed his hope to help people to better understand the situation in China. “We just want to bring some awareness to the Tibetan situation, such as how China is killing Tibetans in Tibet,” said Hendechen.

“I haven’t experienced anything first hand, but I hear from my parents and grandparents what the Chinese did in Tibet, and what they’re still doing,” said Hendechen. “The situation is and that the Tibetans aren’t happy in Tibet.”

Joshua Philipp is an award-winning investigative reporter with The Epoch Times and host of EpochTV's "Crossroads" program. He is a recognized expert on unrestricted warfare, asymmetrical hybrid warfare, subversion, and historical perspectives on today’s issues. His 10-plus years of research and investigations on the Chinese Communist Party, subversion, and related topics give him unique insight into the global threat and political landscape.
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