International Focus on Tibet and China Provokes Student Response

As the 2008 Summer Olympics draw closer and the world’s attention focuses on China, tensions between China and Tibet are intensifying and activists on both sides of the conflict are taking action. Pro-Tibet protests have been a staple on college campuses over the past few decades, and have intensified in recent weeks. Increased media attention surrounding the issue has provoked a strong response from Chinese students who see the attention as a denigration of their country. As most of the Chinese students are inexperienced as activists, many of their actions have been reactive to pro-Tibet speeches and actions and seem focused on drowning out the voices of their opponents. At the University of Washington, where the Dalai Lama recently spoke, students fought to limit his speech to strictly non-political topics. At Duke Chinese protestors drowned out a pro-Tibet vigil and a Chinese freshman who tried to mediate received death threats.