Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Sept. 25: Around 2,500 Tibetans and Tibet supporters, including Uyghurs, Hongkongers, Taiwanese, and Chinese dissidents, converged on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. on Thursday under the banner of “Chalo DC” to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit.
The rally, organised by the pro-independence group Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), also drew support from advocacy groups including the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), Tibetan National Congress (TNC) and Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), among others. Longtime Tibet supporters, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), also joined the demonstration and addressed the gathering at the National Mall.
Pelosi told demonstrators that political leaders needed to hear their voices, saying it was important for elected officials, as well as the presidents of the United States and China, to hear their concerns. “It’s really important for elected officials and for the president of the United States and the president of China to hear what you have to say,” Pelosi said, adding that the United States presents itself as a country that cares about “human rights” and “the dignity and worth of the people.”
She also called for respect for Tibet’s distinct religious and cultural identity, saying, “We have to insist that the religion, the language, the faith, the sense of community in Tibet be respected. We must continue to fight for Tibet.”
McGovern, meanwhile, used his address to press the U.S. administration to confront Beijing over its human rights record and policies affecting Tibetans. “We demand that President Trump get tough on the Chinese president’s abysmal human rights record,” McGovern said. He also called on the administration to oppose China’s newly enacted “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,” address transnational repression of Tibetans and ensure that Tibetans in the United States are not deported to China.
The congressman had already joined fellow lawmakers Jamie Raskin and Gregory Meeks in urging President Donald Trump to raise the law directly with Xi during the summit. In a September 23 letter, the lawmakers argued that the legislation gives Chinese authorities broad powers against Tibetans, Uyghurs and other minority communities, as well as critics living outside China. They called for the law to be repealed.
McGovern has also specifically raised the case of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, recognised by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, who disappeared after being taken into Chinese custody in 1995. At the rally, McGovern called for his release and for him to be allowed to communicate freely with the Tibetan people.
However, the demonstrations were accompanied by disruptions from groups supporting Xi Jinping. Individuals carrying Chinese national flags used microphones and loudspeakers to repeatedly play the slogan “Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome,” along with loud recorded noise that protesters said was intended to cover or drown out Tibetan protest voices.
Tibetan protesters also reported confrontations with individuals they identified as pro-Beijing supporters. Some people seen at the demonstrations wore matching gray bucket hats, face masks and sunglasses and were accused by protesters of photographing and recording the demonstrations. Protesters further alleged that some individuals carried pepper spray and tactical umbrellas and confronted people on the streets.
The ‘Chalo DC’ mobilisation formed part of a broader coalition of diaspora communities seeking to draw international attention to their concerns over Beijing’s policies. For Tibetan protesters, the rally focused on Tibet’s political, cultural, linguistic and religious rights, while Uyghur, Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Chinese dissident groups used the occasion to highlight their own grievances. Together, the demonstrations placed issues of human rights, cultural identity, political freedoms and the right to dissent alongside Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington.
