....or he could have been too "busy"....
Posted on 03/14/2008 11:05:00 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Actor Gere calls for Olympics boycott if China mishandles Tibet
1 hour, 50 minutes ago
Hollywood actor and Tibet activist Richard Gere Saturday called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games if China "does not act in the proper way" in handling protests in the Himalayan region.
Gere, an outspoken supporter of the Tibetan cause and a follower of the Dalai Lama, said there "absolutely" should be a worldwide boycott of the Games if Beijing mishandled protests that official Chinese media say have left seven dead.
"In this situation if the Chinese do not act in the proper way, change their ways, acknowledge what is going on, allow free access to communication, then I think that absolutely we have to boycott" the Games, Gere told BBC radio.
"It would be unconscionable if we continued as if things are hunky dory and everyone's happy. It's impossible," he said.
The biggest protests against Chinese rule in Lhasa since 1989 -- which coincided with the 49th anniversary on March 10 of a failed uprising that led to the Dalai Lama's departure into exile -- led to clashes between demonstrators and police on Friday.
Witnesses told AFP tanks and other military vehicles had been deployed, along with police and soldiers, across the city.
Gere said he had not previously supported a boycott, believing the Olympics facilitated "the free exchange of communications, of sports, entertainment".
He said of the protests: "You see this around the world with people who have been repressed, who are on the edge of extinction, and there's nothing left for them to do.
"Tibetans have been much marginalised in recent years, much more than before. And that's why you see this pressure cooker effect in Tibet where religion has essentially been outlawed, where pictures of the Dalai Lama, who is essentially their Jesus Christ, are not allowed."
He added: "The loss of opportunity, education, health care etcetera, people can't live with that. Essentially when you have people up against the wall that tight, they will explode."
Gere, a Buddist, described the demonstrations, and the violent Chinese reaction, as "not unexpected".
"The situation in Tibet has been deteriorating for many years and as one would expect, that as China becomes more secure and more successful and more powerful that it might be able to change how it behaves to its own people and to the people it has colonised."
Ping!
Ping!
It never was and never will. Mao is a cruel mass-murderer.
No need to wait for the Tibet story to unfold. We should be boycotting the Olympics right now because China is killing thousands of cats to “clean up” the city for foreign visitors. They have even convinced pet owners that cats are a disease threat, so that people are throwing them out to be murdered in the street.
It’s a nation of cruel ignoramuses. The Olympic committee should have never chosen it as a site.
Several years ago I remember reading China was overrun with huge rats....so they encouraged everyone to eat them to get rid of the problem....LOL!
Is that it Gere? What about the imprisonment of Chinese who have spoken out against the gov’t? What about the Catholic Bishops and others who are imprisoned because of their faith? What about the slave labor they force on the Chinese peasants? The crackdown on individualism and dissent? What about their militaristic communist system that keeps the masses “in line”?
Or is Tibet only important because you’re a Buddhist and that’s a Buddhist country?
Gere is a Buddhist but I commend him for speaking out. For any Hollywood type to speak against any socialist regime for whatever reason is noteworthy.
I hope no one shows up except terrorists and they have a good old time together.
Mr. Richard "missed a" Gere, how 'bout, "because they are commies?"
yitbos
I don’t think Gere has been keeping up with the news. (Or, his mind may be slippin’).
> First, it was Spielberg. Now it is Gere. Chicom is busy taking on Hollywood.:-)
Perhaps one or two people in Hollyweird have spines after all.
ChiCom is a nasty piece of work to be sure. I do not understand why the World is mesmerized with enabling their bad behavior. It is time it stopped.
I’m a Tibetan Buddhist too and I think rbosque is right. Does Gere have gerbils in his brain? What kind of Buddhist has compartmentalized compassion? If he understands the Tibetan situation then he knows the PRC is evil, brutal and barbarian. What question is left about their actions in regards to anyone else?
....or he could have been too "busy"....
Instead of this kind of easy incitement towards the creation of a freefloating (and therefore useless) rage at China....they ought to be doing what they're good at, which is to make some great films about Tibet and other Chinese crimes against humanity!
Then the whole world would watch those films and understand what's going on.
> Instead of this kind of easy incitement towards the creation of a freefloating (and therefore useless) rage at China....they ought to be doing what they’re good at, which is to make some great films about Tibet and other Chinese crimes against humanity!
There’s alot to be said for that idea.
Our Nation is busy trying to get FREE TRADE with ChiCom — if you can believe it — and our pollies will do almost anything to appease their every whim. It is a sick fetish that is not easy to understand, far less support.
Roll on the Election!
Go look at a map and see if you still think that. Unlike those responsible for keeping terroist from crossing U.S. borders, the Chinese recognize a threat and have acted.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.