San Francisco, CA January 26 – Approximately twenty Tibetans and supporters staged a protest yesterday afternoon at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA to express their outrage at Google’s decision to join hands with the Chinese Government in its censorship efforts. Google has launched a web search engine custom-built to the Chinese authorities’ specifications that blocks access to information about Tibet, human rights, and other topics sensitive to Beijing.
“It became clear this morning that the Bay Area SFT crew was going to be responsible for representing what has become a sea of outrage directed toward Google for it’s collusion with the Chinese Government’s internet censorship project,” said Chris Mckenna, Executive Director of Tibet Justice Center.
By 11am yesterday, the small group of activists from Berkeley and San Francisco started preparing signs and banners that read, “Don’t Be Evil,” which is Google’s informal motto. Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet said, “Google’s participation in the Chinese government’s program of repression and information control renders this company motto a terrible joke.”
“We had very little time, but we called our friends and family and told them to leave work early or feign illness so they could join this protest,” said Tenzin Wangchuk, President of San Francisco Tibetan Youth Congress. “It was too important not to come down.”
By 5pm, when Google employees were on their way out of their offices, a raucous group of demonstrators had gathered on the lawn outside Google Headquarters. The group staged political theater in which protesters kneeled, gagged and chained to computer keyboards, symbolizing how Google is contributing to China’s repression of Tibetans and even its own citizens. Students for a Free Tibet members from nearby Stanford University gave several press interviews.
Today, Students for a Free Tibet organized a protest outside of Google Canada’s National Sales Office in Toronto. The protests and criticism of Google have received significant high-profile press coverage around the globe, putting the company on the defensive about its decision.
