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'Our country deserves the Olympics'
Maria Cook and Scott CressmanThe Ottawa Citizen
Monday, April 14, 2008
"Olympics is nothing to do with politics," said Jeremy Zhang, a 37-year-old Ottawa chemist who emigrated from China in 2002. "I think our country deserves the Olympics. Sports is a peaceful event to join all people together."
A group of Chinese community associations organized the event following a week of chaotic protests that disrupted the world relay of the Olympic torch. Protesters in Paris, London and San Francisco have condemned Chinese human rights abuses, including recent violent confrontations in Tibet.
Early in the afternoon, a dozen pro-Tibet protesters crashed the rally. The pro-China faction surrounded them, calling them liars paid to disrupt the event, said Nicole Demers, a volunteer with Friends of Tibet.
"They wouldn't let us be 15 people voicing our opinion in a free country."
Police told the counter-protesters that they were not safe and moved them down Wellington Street toward the Château Laurier. The protesters, some splattered with fake blood or gagged, waved Tibetan flags under police watch.
"The tone was hateful and quite intimidating when there's a dozen Tibetans up against a thousand Chinese," said Russ Hillier, a Carleton student and member of Students for a Free Tibet.
The rally aimed to repeat a party line, not promote truth or justice, Mr. Hillier said. "Really, what these protesters are saying is very similar to what the Chinese government is saying."
The flag-waving demonstrators called for a politics-free Olympics that enjoyed the support of the Canadian government. They expressed indignation at "distorted" media reports and opposed Tibet independence.
"Tibet is part of China," said Ling Wang, a 30-year-old Toronto medical researcher. "We don't want anyone separating from our country."
It was a love-in for China. People waved the red Chinese flag, wore "I love China" T-shirts and sang along to songs that stirred nationalist sentiment.
"We want the Canadian government to treat China fairly and to treat the Olympics in a sporting way," said University of Ottawa student Hong Chen.
"Don't boycott it. We know human rights is an issue there. Give China a chance. Let's sit down and talk about it, not mix it with sports. Let the world come together to celebrate sport."
One of the rally's speakers was Henry Lu, chairman of the Chinese Community Association of Ottawa. The excited crowd punctuated his sentences with raucous cheers and flag-waving.
"Open your eyes. If you really want to know China, go there," Mr. Lu said in an interview. "Don't say things from outside."
China would host a strong Olympics despite the disputes, Mr. Lu said. For the sake of long-term relations with China, Canada should support the Games, he said.
China has made real improvements, but the world holds the nation to a different standard, he added. Western media still judge the country too harshly.
"They just try to give China a bad name, a bad image, and they are not doing that on a factual basis," agreed Adam Wang, an Ottawa translator and spokesman for the event.
"We're here to protest the violence perpetrated by the separatist movement in Tibet and their supporters," said Mr. Wang, who has lived in Canada for 20 years. "There is another side to the story, that those people who promote the message of peace actually carry out the violence."
Mr. Wang, 50, said Chinese Canadians feel proud that China is hosting the Olympics.
"Is China perfect in terms of human rights? No. But it's changing. Boycotts are not effective and can only hurt the feelings of the Chinese people at large."
Yun Bo Liu, 24, a Carlton University biochemistry student who came to Canada six years ago, said the torch protests made him angry.
"Tibet is destroying the Games. They make people have the wrong image of the Olympics in China. The Olympics are not just for China. It's for everyone in the world."
