Roundup: Overseas Chinese rally in support of Beijing Olympics, against Western media's biased coverage

Roundup: Overseas Chinese rally in support of Beijing Olympics,against Western media's biased coverage

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Many Chinese expatriates andstudents in the United States, Japan and Europe rallied on Saturdayto express their support to the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and theiranger at some Western media's biased coverage of the recent Lhasariots.

Thousands of Chinese Americans and overseas Chinese ralliedoutside the Cable News Network (CNN)'s studios in downtown LosAngeles to protest anti-Chinese remarks by Jack Cafferty, one of thenetwork's commentators.

The protestors crowded the sidewalks, holding placards whichread: "No Racial Discrimination," "CNN, Don't Fool Americans," "NoMedia distortion" and "True Apology from CNN."

Singing patriotic Chinese songs and shouting "CNN Liar, CaffertyFire," the protestors demanded a true and sincere apology from theCNN and Cafferty, as well as his dismissal from his post.

On April 9, as the Olympic torch relay was underway in SanFrancisco, Cafferty said in a CNN program that goods from China were"junk," and "I think they're basically the same bunch of goons andthugs they've been for the last 50 years," apparently referring tothe Chinese people.

Over 300 Chinese Americans and Chinese nationals gathered nearthe U.S. Capitol to protest against some U.S. media's andpoliticians' biased remarks about the Lhasa riots on March 14, whichkilled 18 civilians and one police officer.

The peaceful demonstration in the Upper Senate Park, which liesacross the street from the U.S. Capitol Building, attracted ChineseAmericans and overseas Chinese of all ages and of variousprofessions.

"American media, you can muzzle our voices, but cannot smotherthe truth!" reads one banner.

The demonstrators are also infuriated by some members of the U.S.Congress, who support the Dalai clique for their own politicalpurposes.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Chinese students in Japan signed theirnames on three flags to extend their support for the Beijing OlympicGames.

The campaign, initiated by the Chinese Students in JapanFriendship Association, plans to collect over 10,000 signatures ofChinese students and scholars in Japan.

At the opening ceremony of the campaign held in the TokyoUniversity of Marine Science and Technology, the Chinese studentsset up banners promoting Olympic spirits and the Beijing Olympicsslogans such as "One World, One Dream."

The flags will then be presented to the Organizing Committee ofthe Beijing Olympic Games.

Nearly 10,000 Chinese expatriates and students held a peacefuldemonstration in downtown Paris to express their support for theBeijing Olympics and their anger at a few French media's distortedreports about the Lhasa riots.

The rally, starting from midday at the Place de la Republiquesquare, was the biggest ever staged by overseas Chinese in France innearly 20 years, organizers said.

The demonstrators, dressed in red T-shirts with the slogan"Olympic Games is a bridge, not a wall," waved both Chinese andFrench national flags and chanted patriotic songs.

They also protested against the stance of a few French mediawhich have provided misleading information on the Olympic torchrelay and the Lhasa riots.

In London, over 3,000 Chinese expatriates and students staged asilence demonstration at a square opposite the British Parliamentbuilding, in protest of distorted reports by some Western mediaincluding British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) on the Tibet riots.

"Today, we are here to oppose media distortion and mediafabrication in the recent events. We are here in a quest forobjectivity, fairness and justice," a demonstration coordinator readout a statement.

"As we heard, we saw, we say the BBC on some of the recent eventshas misled the British public and the rest of the world by providingintensive untruthful reports and biased coverage."

The rally was mobilized via the Internet and receivedenthusiastic responses from all parts of Britain.

Over 2,000 Chinese studying or working in Manchester andneighboring cities in central Britain held a silence demonstrationagainst media distortion in front of the BBC office building.

In an open letter to the BBC, the protestors said the BBC adopted"double-standards" and failed to provide credible and independentcoverage of the Olympic torch relay and the Lhasa riots.

Meanwhile, thousands of Chinese expatriates and students from allacross Germany staged a peaceful demonstration in Berlin to protestagainst the biased news coverage of the Lhasa riots and voice theirsupport for the Beijing Olympics.

Nearly 3,000 people participated in the march, beginning fromBerlin's famed downtown Friedrichstrasse railway station to thePotsdamer Platz, a landmark square for the capital city.

During the rally, the protesters held banners such as "Tibet was,is and will be a part of China" and "Boycotting Olympics = NewBerlin Wall," and sang patriotic songs.

Moreover, some 1,500 Chinese expatriates and students staged apeaceful demonstration in Vienna to show their support for theOlympics and their anger at the "pro-Tibet independence" activists'attacks of the Olympic torch relay.

The demonstration, titled "Overseas Chinese in Vienna SupportingBeijing Olympics Demonstration," was organized by 25 Chinese groupsin Austria and local Chinese-language media organizations.