Yingsel 2008
The Rangzen Antelope Speaks

I spent a whole weekend with my friends at Tanager Lodge, in upstate New York. I had so much fun! We went swimming, hiking, kayaking and even watched a Tibetan dance troupe perform. Watch me and my new friends here at Tibet Camp!

On Sept. 5th some very creative, smart and resourceful Tibetan students staged a protest during the 7th Asia Men’s Hockey Tournament in Chennai, which the Chinese national hockey team was playing against Korea.

The students wore shirts that said, “No Olympic Until Tibet is Free” as well as chanted “Free Tibet” in both Tibetan and Chinese.  But the icing to this yummy activist cake was their “FREE TIBET” human formation.  They used their bodies to spell out “FREE TIBET” in the bleachers.  That is SO cool!

Here is a picture of these smart activists.

Tashi Delek TSAM!  You are all heroes!

Tashi Delek Everyone!

I’m so sorry that I haven’t checked in lately. Its been almost a month since my last posting, and so much has happened since I left Beijing with Lhadon-la.

Our time in Beijing was full of stress, excitement and purpose. I was in a state of constant fear for Lhadon-la and Paul-la’s safety. I saw the wicked look in the eyes of the Chinese plain clothes police that were following them. Thankfully, the whole team was able to leave Beijing safely and together. Here is a picture of us at the airport, finally reunited.

On the flight from Beijing to Hong Kong, the entire crew of Cathay Pacific was sooo kind to us. The captain even let me sit in the pilot seat of the plane

 

After the loooong flight from Hong Kong to Canada, Lhadon-la was surrounded by media the moment she stepped off the plane.

 

After a very well deserved rest with her family Lhadon-la spoke to the Toronto Tibetan community, and I got to present with her!

Here is a picture of Lhadon-la, her Pala T.C. Tethong-la and me!

Here are a couple pictures of Lhadon-la and I speaking to the crowd in Toronto.

In this picture you can see Lhadon-la’s Amala, Judy-la sitting down. She was so nice and helped make sure that I felt right at home. She reminded me of my own Amala and that really made me miss my family back home in Tibet.

Here are some pictures of the great Toronto Tibetan community with Lhadon-la and me.

 

After just a few days Lhadon-la and I went to Students for a Free Tibet Headquarters in New York City. It reminded me a little bit of Beijing (without the gross pollution in the air and on the ground), but this time I wasn’t scared to be Tibetan. In fact, the moment I walked into the SFT office I almost started crying. I saw Tibetan flags everywhere, and pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama displayed all around the office. I felt like for the first time, I could be a Tibetan without being scared or ashamed. I was so excited to be here that I jumped at the first opportunity to help volunteer for SFT. They have done so much for me, it was the very least I could do.

Here is a picture of me tabling for the first time with four very active SFT’ers. Amelie , Dawa , Kelsang and Kal . That event was so fun!

So far, it has been very exciting being here. I can loudly say that I am a proud Tibetan and scream “BHOD RANGZEN!”, without the fear of a Chinese soldier beating me. I can publicly have a picture of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, without fearing that a spy has seen me with it. All of these freedoms remind me of why it was important for me to leave the Olympic Mascot team. I want the same freedom for the Tibetan people and fellow Tibetan antelopes back in Tibet. I will fight hard to make sure that my Amala and all in her generation are able to see a Free and Independent Tibet. THANK YOU SFT!!!

Beijing We Are Ready

 

love and freedom.

 

Yingsel the Rangzen Antelope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tashi Delek Freedom Fighters!

This is Lhadon-la’s End of Day One report. Your courage inspires, and motivates all of us. Please tell all your loved ones to watch as Day Two unfolds of her exploration of Beijing.

Day One - Good Night and Good Luck

 

August 3rd, 2007

Some reflections at the end of our first day here in Beijing. Lots of emotion and adrenaline mixed with a good dose of exhaustion and paranoia.

Thank you for all the supportive comments and well-wishes. I wish I could respond to each you, but I have to be careful about how and when I access this blog.

More to come, so stay tuned and spread the word…

Tashi Delek Freedom Fighters!

This is Yingsel, reporting from a internet cafe in Beijing. I am here right now keeping a close eye on my friend Lhadon Tethong. She is a passionate activist for Tibetan independence and the Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. She is in China at this very moment, blogging about the many things the Chinese government tries to hide from its own people and the world. She will also be sharing her experiences as a Tibetan, walking around in the capital city of our oppressors.

I am asking all my friends around the globe to join Lhadon-la on each step of her uncensored tour of Beijing and see what unfolds. Please keep her safety in your hearts, and tell all your friends to watch her on her blog as her courageous journey unfolds.

www.BejingWideOpen.org

My friend Singhe who is studying in Hong Kong sent me a very interesting article written by the Washington Post. It is entitled “China Sees Activists As Olympic Threat” I was in a cyber cafe in Lhasa reading the article and had to hide a big smile, just in case one of the Chinese internet monitors glanced over. Some of the information in the article made me quite scared about what the Chinese government might do to some of my SFT friends overseas.

The effort is among the broadest intelligence-collection drives Beijing has taken against foreign activist groups, often known as non-governmental organizations, or NGOs. It aims to head off protests and other political acts during an Olympics the communist leadership hopes will boost its popularity at home and China’s image abroad.

But in the article it proved how effective a smart and strategic action could not just unsettle the Chinese government, but could outright scare them. It just goes to show how a small dedicated group of people can effect real change in the world.

Those worries grew in recent months as a multiplying number of foreign groups mounted public campaigns to tie causes as varied as promoting labor rights and protecting sharks to the Beijing games.

After four Americans unfurled a banner calling for Tibetan independence on the Chinese-controlled side of Mount Everest in April, China tightened access to Tibet for foreigners, especially Americans, Western diplomats in Beijing said.

Before the Mt. Everest Action in April, I remember looking around and seeing the faces of Tibetans in Lhasa and wanting to cry. But afterwards, after the excitement started to quiet down, I saw something different in their faces, especially their eyes. There was a renewed sense of hope and semshug (courage). The kora or circumabulation that the elder Tibetans would do, were now more energetic, and their mantras were more filled with hope. China’s face is changing, just like Tibet’s. But this time, there is more of a furrow in their brow and a glint of fear in their eyes. They can feel the power and determination of the Tibetan people and their supporters, and they are scared.

I have to leave this computer station now, I think the internet monitor saw me smile too much and is now getting suspicious. I will keep all of you updated soon, and I am really excited to see all the activity and exciting events for August 8th by Tibetans and their supporters all over the world.

Smiling, Thinking and Hoping.

Yingsel the Rangzen Antelope.

Tashi Delek everyone! Yingsel here reporting from a secret location in one of the BIG *cough* cities *cough* in China. Its pretty yucky here right now, its hot, smelly and smoggy. Very, very smoggy. Its during times like these when I miss Bhod (Tibet), the most. The lush green pastures , the fresh smell of wind over Yamdrok Tso, and the crystal clear views of the mountains in the summer. I just met with some old friends at a local university, and they carefully brought a recent news clipping from the BBC website. It reads, “China Buried Fog Death Finding”, and the article it has some pretty scary information. For instance:

 

“The Financial Times said the (World) Bank report, entitled ‘Cost of Pollution in China’, found up to 760,000 people die prematurely each year in China because of air and water pollution. High levels of air pollution in China’s cities leads to 350,000-400,000 premature deaths, it said. Another 300,000 die because of poor-quality air indoors.”

 

Its interesting and scary how the Beijing Olympics Committee is trying to pass off the 2008 Olympics as the “Green Olympics”. So many of the reported “changes” going on in Beijing is nothing more than an elaborate, well funded hoax. I don’t understand how countries could send some of their most talented, well trained athletes to Beijing to be exposed to this poisonous air. Its such a shame, that they would let their athletes breathe this death gas. What is even more crazy is how the Chinese government tries to hide this evil truth from its own people.

 

“The World Bank was told that it could not publish this information. It was too sensitive and could cause social unrest,” one adviser to the study told the Financial Times. It said the bank ‘reluctantly’ agreed to take out the sensitive information.”

It was this sort of dishonesty that showed me that the Chinese government couldn’t be trusted with Tibet. If they are capable of doing something like this to their own people, what more of the Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongolians. I can’t *cough* believe that they actually think they could get away with this.

 

“…the government department is certainly aware of China’s pollution problems. Last month it said about 60% of Chinese cities regularly suffer from air pollution and have no centralised sewage treatment facilities.”

 

 

*Cough* Pretty gross right? Hey all my beautiful friends and Freedom Fighters, I’m sorry to leave in such a hurry, but I don’t think my Tibetan lungs can handle all the poison in the air. Take care and please check back with my blog. I’ll be sending more messages from the underground.

 

For Freedom and Peace,

Yingsel the Rangzen Antelope

 

Tashi Delek Freedom Fighters. This is Yingsel and I’m doing some underground reporting from a cyber cafe in a secret location . Thank you everyone for sending me messages of support, solidarity and love through my blog. Knowing that there is such a wonderful group of Tibetan freedom fighters both Bhod-pa and Inji, makes me so inspired and determined to continue my work to expose China’s brutal colonization of my countryfolk and my nation.

 

Many of you might have already seen the news that China is planning on building a multimillion dollar highway on the holy face of Chomolungma (what most of you call Mount Everest). I remember overhearing these plans while I attended publicity events with my Chinese handlers. I hoped it wasn’t going to be true, but now i see it is. They all seemed so proud about the fact that they would be able to scar the sacred slopes of Chomolungma with their environmentally deranged road. You can see this clearly in this Xinhua News report:

“The Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that construction of the road, budgeted at 150 million yuan ($19.7 million) would turn a 108-kilometer rough path from the foot of the 8,850-meter-tall mountain to a base camp at 5,200 meters “into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails.”

 

 

My friends at SFT are working on a petition to protest this terrible Chinese plan and I hope that you, your friends, your family and community will sign it when its ready. I’ll let you know check back here for updates.

 

For Freedom and Peace,

 

Yingsel the Rangzen Antelope

 

Dear Friends and Supporters of Tibet,

My name is Yingsel. I am a Tibetan antelope. I was one of the mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But I’ve defected from the Olympic team because I can no longer stand being used as a puppet to cover up China’s destruction of my homeland.

We are facing extinction. Before the Chinese came to Tibet there were a million antelopes; now there are barely 75,000! Poachers kill us for our soft wool, used to make shawls. We’re an endangered species — but Beijing doesn’t do enough to protect us.

I am busily working underground - organizing and networking to use the Olympics to turn the tables on China.

If you need to reach me, please contact the staff at Students for a Free Tibet HQ. They have been helping me plan my struggle. They will be distributing flyers and stickers with my messages, designing children’s books to tell my story, and doing my public relations work too.

Please make a donation to SFT today and help me in my quest for justice and freedom.

Bhod Rangzen! Free Tibet

Yinsel
Tibetan antelope and former mascot of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Link to Yingsel’s press conference video