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Tibetans in Canada hold rally to mark 1959 uprising against Chinese occupation
The event drew support from other rights groups confronting China’s controversial actions at home, including those backing democracy in Hong Kong and opposing the persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang province
Tibetans residing in Canada organised a car rally in Toronto on Wednesday to mark the 62nd anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation. The demonstration comprised 120 vehicles and it concluded at the Chinese consulate in the city.
The event this year drew support from other rights groups confronting China’s domestic human rights violations, including those backing democracy in Hong Kong and opposing the persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang province.
While messages of solidarity came from the leader of the Opposition in Canada, Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, the event witnessed the participation of groups such as Canada-Hong Kong Link, Federation for Democratic China and World Uighur Congress.
Pointing to Chinese aggression on the border with India and in the South China Sea, Youdon Tsamotshang, board chair of Students for a Free Tibet Canada and one of the principal organisers of Wednesday’s event, said, “The Tibet issue is a marker. We’ve suffered for the last 62 years. Now the rest of the world is bearing the brunt of China’s policy.”
The event marked the anniversary of Tibetans’ resistance against Chinese occupation in Lhasa, which resulted in the movement being crushed by Beijing, forcing the Dalai Lama to escape to India in 1959, where he remains in exile.
Organisers of the event in Toronto called upon the Canadian government to take legislative actions targeting China similar to that in the US and “stand by the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhist community’s wishes to be in charge of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation process”.
That there is momentum in Canada for those opposing China’s policies was also evidenced by a poll released on Wednesday by Maru Public Opinion, which showed that 52% of respondents viewed China as the highest security threat faced by Canada, outstripping Russia, North Korea and Iran.
