The Beijing 6 Being Held for 10 Days

There's finally some word on James Powderly and five “citizen journalists” (not the other five artists), together dubbed the Beijing Six, who were detained in China for their Free Tibet protests. The AFP reports that "Beijing police said Thursday it had handed out 10-day detention terms to six foreigners believed by an overseas activist group to be pro-Tibet campaigners involved in Olympic protests this week." F.A.T. has a statement Powderly made on video prior to being detained, in which he says, "I'm participating in this non-violent direct action because as an artist I've taken the role of an engineer that builds tools to allow people who don't have a voice to express their voice in the public sphere." The SFT's blog has the latest news on all Free Tibet protesters in Beijing.

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By Jen Carlson in News on August 21, 2008 1:21 PM

Comments [rss]

t0rque182

Here's the latest development folks. You sometimes have to wait for the truth. At least 2 of these "Beijing 6" were arrested in their Hotel rooms having broken no Chinese laws. If your just a plain hater you'll find a way to hate on 2 guys plucked from their hotel to jail for nothing.

t0rque182

I'm dismayed by the ease of posting vitriol. Hey, thefacts, were the gas chambers an "internal matter" of Germany?

I guess you don't see the irony of juxtaposing lazy : pacifist? Have you ever traveled? Have you ever truly mixed with people in poverty or oppressed people? Why is it necessary to post negative comments about folks who are standing up for the oppressed?

Pull My Finger

Sell their organs.

sinisterteashop

Better the 'artists' were protesting the Iraqi invasion, or the real, serious problems in the world (genital mutilation, Darfur and other genocide, child prostitution), not an internal Chinese matter.

Bwah, ha, ha!!!!!

If Tibet is an "internal matter" to China then genital mutilation is an internal matter to the cultures who practice it, Darfur is an internal matter to Sudan, Palestine is an internal matter to Israel and Iraq is an internal matter to the occupying American army.

Your imperialism is showing.

Nick S

Yes, thefacts, Darfur isn't a "trendy" cause at all.

palestine

What is this, Lost in Beijing?

thefacts

Tibet is the latest trendy protest. No one gave a damn about Tibet until Richard Gere and his Anglo Buddhists got involved about 15 years ago.

What's hip today will soon become passé.

Tibet was a province of China for centuries and only from about 1913 to 1950 did it have autonomy, until China took it back like we took Puerto Rico or Hawaii, say. Except PR or Hawaii were never a US province.

Tibet was a xenophobic theocracy ruled by monks who leeched off the poor peasants. They never worked and conned the peasants into supporting them.

Tibet was midieval, or worse. Pre-biblical in its government.

In the mid-19th century it BANNED all foreigners. Nice!

Lazy pacifist Tibetans did nothing in 50 years to free their homeland. Now some hipster artists from Bklyn risk their freedom. For what? Publicity! Sure enough the Tibetans are deafeningly silent.

You want freedom, you fight for it. You don't chant OM and contemplate your navel all day.

Better the 'artists' were protesting the Iraqi invasion, or the real, serious problems in the world (genital mutilation, Darfur and other genocide, child prostitution), not an internal Chinese matter.

But, hell, that wouldn't be trendy and the trendoids wouldn't be interested.

Neil Epstein

four days from now the Olympics are over, and the world forgets about Beijing. That means they have 6 days in the classic China penal system.