JAPAN: Hundreds gather in Tokyo to pray for Tibet, after a spate of self-immolations and protests by Tibetan monks against Chinese rule

Record ID: 466207

  • Title: JAPAN: Hundreds gather in Tokyo to pray for Tibet, after a spate of self-immolations and protests by Tibetan monks against Chinese rule
  • Date: 9th February 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 8, 2012) (REUTERS) TIBETAN BUDDHIST MONK PRAYING MORE OF MONK LEADING PRAYERS IN FRONT OF ALTAR PICTURES OF NUNS AND MONKS WHO BURNED THEMSELVES TO DEATH PICTURES ON ALTAR PEOPLE PRAYING IN FRONT OF ALTAR CLOSE VIEW OF STATUE OF BUDDHA BEHIND ALTAR VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PRAYING PRAYER BOOK IN TIBETAN WITH JAPANESE TRANSLITERATION VARIOUS OF JAPANESE BUDDHIST MONK PRAYING VARIOUS OF CANDLES ARRANGED OUTSIDE PRAYER HALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) LHAKPA TSHOKO, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DALAI LAMA FOR JAPAN AND EAST ASIA, SAYING: "Most of the countries, they act like three monkeys, which says, you don't see, you don't hear, you don't speak. So, the only option left to us is to appeal to the international community and these monks, innocent monks, their attempt was to gain the international community's attention." ONLOOKER HOLDING TIBETAN FLAG MORE OF CANDLES PEOPLE PRAYING AND HOLDING TIBETAN FLAGS PEOPLE GATHERED AROUND CANDLES (SOUNDBITE) (English) TENZIN KUNGA, EXILED TIBETAN LIVING IN JAPAN, SAYING: "If the Chinese government is asking the Tibetan people to protest or say anything bad against His Holiness the Dalai Lama, or against one's beliefs, this is something beyond tolerance, you know something we cannot tolerate at all." WOMAN POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH WITH CHILD IN FRONT OF CANDLES ONLOOKER HOLDING TIBETAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) ZENSHO TANAKA, JAPANESE BUDDHIST MONK, SAYING: "Resorting to violence is not good. So if that's the case, I feel the only thing to do is pray." (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) TOKYO RESIDENT YOSHIKAZU HOSHIYAMA, SAYING: "I want them to fight. I want them to look deep into their hearts and fight." MORE OF CANDLES
  • Embargoed: 24th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA6C04HNN863KCUOEOOSDZ07VW9
  • Story Text: Hundreds of Tokyo residents gathered in prayer on Wednesday (February 8) to show solidarity with protests by Tibetan monks against Chinese rule.
    China has stepped up security in what it calls the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan parts of the country following a series of demonstrations and self-immolations, mostly in the country's Sichuan and Gansu provinces.
    Tibetan advocacy groups say as many as seven Tibetans were shot dead and dozens wounded during protests last month in a heavily Tibetan part of Sichuan province.
    On Saturday (February 4), three Tibetans in south-western China set themselves ablaze in protest against Chinese rule, Radio Free Asia reported.
    "Most of the countries, they act like three monkeys, which says, you don't see, you don't hear, you don't speak. So, the only option left to us is to appeal to the international community and these monks, innocent monks, their attempt was to gain the international community's attention," Lhakpa Tshoko, the Japan representative of the Tibetan government-in-exile, said.
    In March 2008, riots and protests erupted in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, and spread to other regions in China's western border regions including Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces.
    But, as the fourth anniversary of the violence approaches, China should brace for more of the same, one Tibetan resident of Tokyo told Reuters.
    "If the Chinese government is asking the Tibetan people to protest or say anything bad against His Holiness the Dalai Lama, or against one's beliefs, this is something beyond tolerance, you know something we cannot tolerate at all," Tenzin Kunga said.
    Among the some 200 Japanese citizens who turned up at Tokyo's Gokokuji temple to offer their support, opinion was more mixed.
    "Resorting to violence is not good. So if that's the case, I feel the only thing to do is pray," a Japanese Buddhist monk told Reuters.
    "I want them to fight. I want them to look deep into their hearts and fight," said another man.
    On Saturday, U.S. Senator John McCain warned Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun that "the Arab Spring is coming to China" and highlighted the number of Tibetans burning themselves to death.
    China has ruled Tibet since 1950, when Communist troops marched in. It rejects criticism that it is eroding Tibetan culture and faith, saying its rule has ended serfdom and brought development to a backward region.
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