By Michael Juel-Larsen
Princetonian Staff Writer
An exhibit of photographs of Tibet in Frist Campus Center has been removed following protests that it promoted the Chinese government’s stance on Tibet. The exhibit, sponsored by the University’s International Center, purported to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region; its detractors said it was Chinese propaganda in disguise.
Tsering Shawa, a Tibetan-born librarian in the Geosciences and Map Library, said he was “outraged” by the exhibit. “[My] main objection was that Princeton University was used for Chinese propaganda,” he said.
The exhibit, captioned in English and Chinese, showed pictures of Tibetan landscape and culture, as well as Tibetan people. The International Center obtained the photos, captions and title for the exhibit from the Asian Cultural Club in Edison, N.J. The club could not be reached for comment, but its website (acclub.org) is geared exclusively towards Chinese culture and language.
Shawa, along with Perry Link, a professor in the Department of East Asian Studies, met with Paula Chow, the director of the International Center, and demanded that the exhibit be taken down. Chow agreed, replacing the exhibit with a note of apology at their request that explained why the exhibit had been taken down. Chow also posted printouts of articles on the Chinese government’s “propaganda campaign” from the International Campaign for Tibet’s website.
Chow said she had not been aware of the exhibit’s political overtones. “I put it up purely just to show the people and the landscape,” she said.
“The moment [Shawa] said he would not accept any of my other alternatives, I said I would take it down,” she said. Chow, who is Chinese, stressed that she went to great lengths to respect others’ concerns.
“I am a non-confrontational person, and I hate to go through this,” she said.
The Tibet Autonomous Region — “so-called autonomous,” according to Shawa — was actually established 41 years ago, created by the Chinese government six years after its invasion of Tibet. The official head of the region is Chinese. Tibetans historically see Tibet as a bigger region than the boundaries of the Autonomous Region, and Shawa said he was offended that the exhibit would “portray Tibet as this particular region.”
The very phrase — Tibet Autonomous Region — is one used exclusively by the Chinese government, and Shawa said that the usage of the phrase in captioning the exhibit was surprising and “outrageous.”
Shawa also took exception to the exhibit’s depiction of Tibetan life. “All the pictures say everyone is happy, which is not true,” he said.
Moreover, Shawa said he was bothered that the photos were taken by “ethnic Chinese” people from Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong and China. And he was “obviously” disappointed that the exhibit was captioned in Chinese instead of Tibetan.
Shawa said he has no problem with the University airing the position of the Chinese government as part of a discussion. “There are a lot of people who disagree with what we believe, and these things could be discussed in an academic environment,” he said. “But the center is using [University] resources in a propaganda campaign for the Chinese government.”
Shawa said he would prefer “a proper Tibetan exhibit which reflects the true condition of Tibetans and the people there, rather than a picture painted by the Chinese government.”
Chow said she offered Shawa the opportunity to show his own pictures. “I really want to show what was happening in Tibet,” she said.
Shawa travelled to Tibet in 2002, though he was not allowed to visit his family’s village. It was his first time back to Tibet since leaving it as an infant.
