About 2,500 Chinese nationalists, most of whom are Chinese immigrants, turned out at a demonstration on Parliament Hill on Sunday to show support for Beijing's actions in Tibet.
A recurring theme in the speeches was that the Canadian media have distorted the facts about the events in Tibet from March 10-14, the most intense period of the unrest.
The resulting Chinese crackdown saw reporters ejected from Tibet and neighbouring provinces.
"Some Canadian media have actually provoked and encouraged violence in Tibet," said one of the speakers.
Many speakers talked about how the Tibetan people were actually liberated by the communist Chinese occupation that began in 1949. Flyers were distributed with pictures of mutilated people, telling how Tibetans supposedly lived in slavery under the Dalai Lama.
One banner read: "Dalai Lama = Slavery in Tibet."
The event was promoted in Chinese-language press as a rally to tell the "truth" about Tibet and "safeguard the reunification of the motherland."
The speeches were interspersed with patriotic Chinese songs. No mention was made of police violence used to quash the Tibet demonstrations or of the grievances that experts say sparked the initially peaceful protests in Lhasa.
Weizhen Tan, a Toronto businessman and sponsor of the demonstration spoke only in Chinese. The following quotes have been translated.
"As you all know, the Tibetan separatists organized and plotted the demonstrations. Tibet, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, had slavery and 80 per cent of the people were illiterate. The masters of the slaves suppressed the slaves, and sold them like they sold their livestock.
"They violated the rules of their religion, they peeled the skin off humans, removed eyes, and cut off people's hands and feet. Such things could only happen under the Dalai Lama," said Tan.
Tan continued that today in Tibet, there is free education through to university level and the one-child policy in effect in China is not enforced.
"In Tibet, we give them very good policy; they can have as many children as they like. The population in China is decreasing, but in Tibet the population has tripled."
However, Tan failed to mention that the population increase in Tibet is the result of a constant influx of migrant workers from China, which is thought to be one of the main reasons for Tibetan discontent.
Several major Chinese-language media outlets in Canada have parroted the Chinese communist regime's line on Tibet, blaming the turmoil on the Dalai Lama and his followers and fanning a nationalist animosity toward Tibetans. (Please see In Canada, Chinese Media Stir Up Anger Against Tibetans. )
Mr. Ding, a rally participant, criticized the Chinese Communist Party; however at the same time he and others were upset that news reports on the Tibetan unrest were not sympathetic to the regime.
"The West feels threatened by the Chinese. China has done lots of bad things but not everything that they have been accused of — they didn't kill any Tibetans."
At one point the crowd started chanting "Liar, Liar, Liar" after a group of about 10 Tibetans and supporters arrived with a Tibetan flag and some posters.
The crowd quickly surrounded the small group and, yelling continuously, would not let them through the gate and onto the grounds of Parliament Hill.
A number of RCMP officers quickly stood in front of the Tibetans to protect them from the pressing crowd, which taunted the small group. The officers recommended that the Tibetans move eastward up Wellington Street for their protection, then made sure that the crowd did not move too close to them. (Please see Toronto Chinese Rally Turns Ugly. ).
Bawa Bhuti, a young Tibetan woman who escaped from Tibet with her mother and came to Canada nine years ago, explained why she was there.
"For me it's about giving a voice to the Tibetan people and the Tibetan cause. I am here for them. "
"There is no basis for that at all [blaming the Dalai Lama for orchestrating the demonstrations in Tibet] and no one has shown anything to support what they are saying. It's totally baseless." (Please see CCTV-4 Steps up Propaganda Against Dalai Lama. )
Senator Consiglio Di Nino, Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, issued a comment on the rally.
"I fully support the right to peaceful assembly and demonstration, but I profoundly disagree with the rhetoric from China's leaders, which is reflected in the comments made and the literature distributed."
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