
Tibetans in Auckland and Friends of Tibet protest during the Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to New Zealand on 14 June 2024.
Auckland: Tibetans in Auckland and Friends of Tibet members protested against the Chinese Premier Li Qiang during his visit to Auckland on 14 June 2024 after his one day visit to New Zealand’s capital city Wellington on Thursday.
Despite being small in number, Tibetans in Auckland made sure that their voices were heard and stood for the truth. Tibetan activists were shoved, pushed out of the way and stalked relentlessly at the protest site by the much larger pro-China group trying to tear down the Tibetan banners. Yet, the Tibetan flag flew high wherever the Premier had engagements in the city and peaceful Tibetan protesters braved strong rain along with physical abuse and harassment from Chinese supporters.
The Chinese-Tibetan Friendship Group members and Friends of Tibet members also joined the protest and called for human rights and freedom in Tibet.
On the day Premier Li Qiang arrived in Wellington, the Wellington chapter of Friends of Tibet members held a protest on the side of the road where the Premier’s motorcade was passing. A member of the Wellington Chapter of Friends of Tibet who participated in the protests, Robin Greenberg said, “In Wellington, we don’t have Tibetans living here at the moment, Friends of Tibet feels a real privilege to make our presence felt and made the Chinese Premier seen us displaying the Tibetan flags high”. She further mentioned the importance of putting human rights above trade and holding Chinese leadership to account for its atrocities in Tibet.
-Report filed by OoT, Canberra