Olympic protests reach the University

As international tensions rise concerning China and Tibet, several students took the debate to Wescoe Beach

While several large cities have protested against the 2008 Beijing Olympics, some Chinese students at KU have publicly supported the event.

By Caleb Sommerville (Contact)

Friday, April 11th, 2008

Protesters on Wescoe Beach Thursday held signs and waved Chinese flags to support the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Photo by Rachel Seymour

Honglei Li, Haerbin, China junior, waves the Chinese flag along side several other KU students, who showed their support for the Summer Olympics in Beijing on Wescoe Beach Thursday afternoon. Some people are protesting the games because of China's alleged human rights violations in the territory of Tibet. "Our idea is that the Olympic Games are not political," Li said. "It's a world thing."

Students held signs that said “Do not politicalize the Olympic Games” and “I Support Beijing Olympics.”

Zelin Zhang, Tianjin, China senior, said they were protesting because people were trying to boycott the games because of the China-Tibet tension.

Some are trying to boycott the games because of China’s alleged human rights violations in the territory of Tibet.

Zhang said the games were a tournament for the world, and that people should not make them a political issue. He said it was unfair to the athletes who train to go the Olympics.

“They need to have a stage to show themselves,” Zhang said.

Honglei Li, Haerbin, China junior, was holding a Chinese flag.

“Our idea is that the Olympic Games are not political,” Li said. “It’s a worldwide thing.”

The students have been protesting since Wednesday, and Yu Wang, Nanjing, China freshman, said most people were friendly and supported the Olympics.

“We thought that it’s our time to do something for our country,” Wang said.

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