By Tashi
Taipei, Taiwan 24 February – Braving a cold windy weather, scores of Tibetans and Taiwanese gathered this morning here at the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall for a symbolic Tibetan Olympics torch relay.
The Taipei leg of the Tibetan Olympic torch relay was organized by the Tibetans in Taiwan and the Friends of Tibet, with Miss Tibet 2006 Tsering Chungtak leading a symbolic run around the memorial hall.
Addressing the event, Tsering Chungtak said, “The Tibetan Olympics is a unique initiative of a group of Tibetan youth, led by Lobsang Wangyal, to express the Tibetan love for sport and to mobilize international support for the Tibetan struggle for freedom.”
She further said that the Tibetan Olympics will not only offer the young Tibetans a platform to enjoy the spirit of Olympics, but also showcase the Tibetan people’s right to national identity.”
“Speaking from personal experience, last December, when I took part in the Miss Tourism Pageant in Malaysia, because of Chinese pressure on the organizers, I was asked to wear a sash labeled Miss Tibet-China. Since such a condition was totally unacceptable, I opted to pull out of the beauty pageant.”
The Tibetan Olympics is scheduled to be held in the north Indian town of Dharamshala from 15-25 May—much ahead of the Beijing Olympics. The worldwide Tibetan Olympics torch relay, which started in Delhi, India, last January, is scheduled to pass through over 10 cities on five continents before arriving back in Dharamshala, India.
Also addressing the media, Dhundup Gyalpo, a Tibetan student involved in organization of the event, said, “Although the Tibetan Olympics torch relay may not be as grand as that of the Beijing Olympics, the spirit of Tibetan Olympics stands taller than the Beijing Olympics. Because, the Tibetan spirit is not just based on the Tibetan love for sport, it is rooted in the spirit of Tibetan resistance against the Chinese rule for over 50 years.”
“For us Tibetans, the Tibetan Olympics rekindles our hope that one day Tibet will be free and we Tibetans will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder to the rest of the world in the sporting events like the Olympics.”
Gyalpo further said that during the Beijing Olympics, China would no doubt stage a spectacular show of its growing economic domination over the world. “However,” he added, “The Tibetan people are also geared up to make their presence known.”
