Chinese-Canadians rally in support of homeland
Updated: Sat Mar. 29 2008 7:14:00 PM
ctvtoronto.ca
Several hundred Chinese-Canadians rallied at Toronto's Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday afternoon to show their support for their homeland.
The group waved both Chinese and Canadian flags and chanted "One China!" while patriotic Chinese music played on boom boxes.
Demonstrators said China has been unfairly portrayed by the media during the recent violent clashes with Tibetan monks.
"We just want to let the Western media know ... not to twist the truth," said Chinese student Jeff Wang.
"Propaganda, just propaganda," said pro-China demonstrator Yang Chao. "If you know the truth about what's really happening in China, it's nothing like what's being reported."
But Tibetan supporters and peace activists denounced the rally, saying the Chinese Consulate forced visa students to organize the event.
"I think it's a scam, I think it's a shame," said activist Dora Nipp. "They are visa students, and they are students who are being controlled by the Chinese Consulate here. They were down in Chinatown buying flags because that's what they're told to do."
"The pressure from the Chinese government, the long-arm of the Chinese government, stretches all the way here to Toronto," said Tibetan-Canadian Tenzin Bhuti.
Those who attended the pro-China event denied the event was staged.
"That's absolutely not true," rally spokesman Alexander Lao said of the allegations. "This event was organized by a bunch of students."
A smaller group of activists protested outside the Chinese Consulate earlier in the day to decry the deadly clashes in China in recent weeks and the tactics they say are being used in Toronto.
Beijing says 22 people died in protests that spread earlier this month to dozens of Tibetan communities across western China, in the broadest challenges to Chinese rule in decades.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Chris Eby and files from The Canadian
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