Beijing: Tiananmen “Tibet Die-in” Protest - Aug. 9, 2008

TIBET PROTEST IN TIANANMEN SQUARE AS OLYMPICS BEGIN
FIVE DETAINED FOLLOWING DRAMATIC “DIE-IN”

Beijing – Five Tibet supporters held a dramatic protest in Tiananmen Square early this afternoon, calling for an end to the Chinese government’s occupation of Tibet.

Four of the activists, lying down and draped in Tibetan national flags, staged a mock die-in with the famous portrait of Mao in the background. A fifth activist spoke about their reason for protesting there today.



Download Full Press Release (DOC): ProtestAtTiananmenSquare080908-PressRelease-FINAL.doc

High-resolution photos available here: 4MB ZIP Download or on Flickr Photo Set

Tiananmen “Tibet Die-in” Protest 080908 from Students for a Free Tibet on Vimeo.

High Resolution Quicktime Video (53 seconds): TiananmenTibetProtest080908.mov

Protest Participants

Christopher Shwartz, 24, was born and raised in Montreal, QC. He
currently lives in Verdun and is a student at Concordia University.

David Demes, 21, was born in Limburg, Germany and is currently
studying and living in Giessen, Germany.

Diane Gatterdan, 55, was born and raised in Chicago, IL. She
currently lives in New York City where she works as a store design
consultant.

Evan Silverman, 31, was born in Queens. He is a professional jazz musician
and lives in New York.

Joan Roney, 39, was born in Greenwich, CT and currently lives in
New York City, where she runs a non-profit dog walking & pet service collective.