By Tsering Passang, Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
October 1st marks the 74th founding anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Under the brutal dictatorship of Mao Tsetung, the Communist Party of China (CCP) came to power and established the People’s Republic of China on 1st October 1949 after overthrowing the Kuomintang Government (The Nationalist – Republic of China – now Taiwan). Mao then ordered his PLA troops to invade East Turkestan and Tibet. Both these countries are still under the illegal occupation of the PRC.
“This Sunday 1 October, a coalition of Chinese, Hongkongers, Southern Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs and other people affected by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rule will unite in central London in protest against the Chinese government”, the organisers’ media release stated.
“Nothing to celebrate” is the central theme of this year’s protest by China’s persecuted communities in the UK. The coalition has planned a range of actions to highlight how 74 years of CCP rule have affected their nations and communities, from military invasions and occupations of their countries in 1950 to modern day human rights violations and crimes against humanity, including mass detentions, torture, religious repression, cultural eradication and violence from police and security forces.
Members and supporters of China’s persecuted communities will gather at the St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, where activists and speakers will give speeches from 3pm to 3.30pm. This will be followed by a march from Trafalgar Square to the Chinese Embassy at Portland Place [via Leicester Square, China Town, Regent Street and Oxford Circus].
From 4.15pm to 5.30pm a large and loud protest will be held outside the Chinese Embassy where leading activists and community members will give speeches.
Mr Enghejirgalang U, Chair and Founder of Voice of Southern Mongolia, said: “China’s ongoing systematic policy of ethnic cleansing in Southern Mongolia, similar to what they have been doing in Tibet and East Turkistan, must be stopped. The Chinese authorities must adhere to its own constitution and the UN regulations, whilst respecting the self-determination and cultural rights of its oppressed peoples. China’s fascist nationalism and push for uniformity are not acceptable and we condemn the CCP regime for its ongoing violations of human rights in its occupied territories.”
Tenzin Kunga, Chair of the Tibetan Community in Britain and Advocacy Officer at Free Tibet, said: “By cutting my homeland of Tibet off from the world, the CCP has been able to move from colonial occupation and mass surveillance to full-scale cultural eradication. Every aspect of Tibet’s unique identity, including its culture, language, history and religion, is being targeted by the CCP, which clearly hopes that within a generation, the existence of Tibet will be forgotten. Our next generation is at particular risk: China’s policy of pushing a million Tibetan children into colonial boarding schools was condemned by the United Nations in February and must be halted. So long as policies like these continue, China National Day is nothing to celebrate; it is a day to confront the Chinese government and make it clear that Tibet will never be forgotten. Our struggle will continue until Tibetans can enjoy freedom and human rights.”
Rahima Mahmut, Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide and UK Director of the World Uyghur Congress, said: “Amidst celebrations in China on October 1 commemorating the 74th anniversary of the formation of the PRC, it is imperative to acknowledge that these festivities cannot conceal the decades of repression and crackdowns endured by my people under the Chinese government. Since 2017, Uyghurs and other ethnic groups have faced the horrifying reality of genocide, marked by torture, rape, forced sterilizations, forced labour, and severe medical abuses – all with the intent to eradicate our ethnicity and culture. It is disheartening that the world’s silence inadvertently empowers the CCP’s regime and lends legitimacy to their celebratory events. It is long overdue for the international community to unite in unwavering solidarity against CCP’s grave crimes.”
Organisers of this year’s protest: Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities Free Tibet Hong Kong Aid Hongkongers in Britain Hong Kong Liberty Stop Uyghur Genocide Tibetan Community in Britain UK Uyghur Community Voice of Southern Mongolia World Uyghur Congress
Useful Links
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM) 