Tibetans Launch International "Boycott Made in China" Campaign
Students fro a Free Tibet, December 4, 2002

Advocacy Groups Vow Economic Pressure on China to Free Tibet.

New York City - On December 7, 2002, Tibetans and supporters will launch an international Boycott ‘Made in China’ campaign, designed to level economic pressure on the Chinese government to end its occupation of Tibet. Simultaneous demonstrations in cities across the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Europe and India will mark the beginning of long-term and coordinated efforts to urge people to stop buying goods made in China.

"When parents shopping for Christmas gifts hear the real story behind the ‘Made in China’ label – that the toy they planned to buy for their child was very likely made by a young woman in sweatshop conditions and that it helps fund the torture of children in Tibet - they will think twice about buying items made in China," says Kathryn Cully, mother and long-time Tibet supporter. "Morally, this is an easy decision."

"Not only are Chinese products made by a disenfranchised labor force where trade unions do not exist, but millions of Chinese work in forced labor camps to produce the low-priced export goods that help sustain China's economy and keep its ruthless, totalitarian leaders in power," says Harry Wu, a survivor of Chinese prisons and labor camps and author of Laogai: The Chinese Gulag.

Organizations working on the Boycott ‘Made in China’ campaign will use the holiday season to draw attention to the fact that most Christmas lights and many holiday presents are being manufactured under horrendous conditions in China. They will also highlight the fact that while so many in the world are observing various religious traditions, Catholic Bishops, Protestant pastors, Buddhist lamas and Falun Gong practitioners in China are being jailed, tortured and even executed for their religious beliefs.

"Boycotting goods made in China is a simple and powerful tactic to effect real change in the Chinese government," said Lhadon Tethong, Boycott organizer and Projects Coordinator for Students for a Free Tibet. "It just makes sense – if you don’t agree with the policies of an authoritarian government like China’s, you don’t give it your money. This kind of direct economic action worked in the Indian independence movement, it worked in the movement against apartheid in South Africa, and it will work for the Tibetan freedom movement."

Who: Tibetans and supporters.
What: Political theater.
Where: 44th Street & Broadway, Times Square, New York City
When: December 7, 2002, 12:00pm – 5:00pm

The Boycott ‘Made in China’ campaign is being organized by a worldwide coalition of Tibetan and Chinese organizations and human rights and labor advocates. The New York City launch is being organized by Students for a Free Tibet, the US Tibet Committee and the Rangzen Alliance.