OAKLAND – A Bay Area activist who was arrested in China for unfurling a large “Free Tibet” banner on the Great Wall has vowed to keep fighting for the region’s independence.
Nupur Modi, 28, returned to his Oakland home after he and five other members of Students for a Free Tibet were deported from China Thursday after being detained for 36 hours.
The protesters were arrested Monday after they hung a 450-foot-square banner that read “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008” ahead of celebrations marking one year until the Beijing Olympics, whose theme is “One World, One Dream.”
The activists were not physically mistreated during their detention, but they were exhausted from repeated questioning, said Kate Woznow, the group’s campaign director.
“We had come to terms with whatever consequences we might face,” Modi said. “Our goal was to put pressure on China, letting them know they can’t just blow off their occupation of Tibet, especially with the Olympics coming up.”
China claims Tibet has been its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say they were self-ruled for most of that period. Chinese communist troops occupied Tibet in 1951, and Beijing continues to rule the region with a heavy hand.
