Tibetan Activists Protest Xi Jinping’s US Visit Amid Pro-China Confrontations
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 24 Sept: Tibetan activists staged multiple demonstrations in Washington, DC, on Wednesday against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US, with pro-China demonstrators attempting to block Tibetan banners and flags along his motorcade route and confronting protesters outside the US Capitol.
A banner reading “No Welcome for Xi, Free Tibet, China Out of Tibet” was unfurled along Xi’s route to his hotel, while pro-China demonstrators waved Chinese flags to obscure the banner and Tibetan national flags held by protesters.
At a separate demonstration outside the US Capitol, Tibetan activists were surrounded by demonstrators carrying Chinese flags. In a video posted on social media, Tenzin Yangzom of the International Tibet Network (ITN) said the protesters would not be intimidated into silence.
“We are here to let everyone know that as Tibetans, we will never be intimidated or harassed into remaining silent,” Yangzom said. “We are here to let the Chinese people, the United States and everyone know that we will always resist in the face of adversity.”
The presence of pro-China counter-protesters at demonstrations against Chinese leaders is not uncommon. Similar confrontations were reported during Xi’s 2023 visit to San Francisco.
The demonstrations are set to continue on Thursday, 24 September, with 12 Tibetan organisations coming together for a larger mobilisation. Organisers estimate that around 1,200 Tibetans from across the US and Canada will participate, alongside Uyghur, Hong Kong, Southern Mongolian and other non-Tibetan groups.
The broader participation reflects how communities affected by what they describe as China’s colonial rule are using Xi’s visit to draw attention to their respective concerns. Subihi, a Uyghur activist, said more than one million Uyghurs have been held in what she described as concentration camps, with families separated and Uyghur language, faith and culture being erased.
“We are not alone,” she said, pointing to Tibetans, Uyghurs, Hong Kongers and Southern Mongolians. She said Chinese policies are “erasing the identity of Tibet,” “dismantling democracy in Hong Kong” and “destroying the native way of life in Southern Mongolia”.
The 24 September protest is scheduled to take place outside the Chinese Embassy, with further activities planned in Washington.
The mobilisation follows the arrest of Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) activist Tenzin Namgyal on 22 September, after he climbed more than 30 feet up a lamppost and unfurled a banner reading, “Dictator Xi, Your Empire Will Fall. Free Tibet.” He was subsequently released and said he would join the protest outside the Chinese Embassy.
Meanwhile, on the same day, US Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised Xi’s visit in a Senate floor speech, saying he would have advised the White House against inviting the Chinese leader to Washington for what he called a “lavish welcome.”
Wicker said the US commander-in-chief should remember that Xi’s “guest” is “a brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator who seeks to dominate his neighbours and whose massive military arsenal is aimed directly at the United States of America.” He also urged President Donald Trump to raise China’s persecution of Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghurs and other religious groups during his meetings with Xi.
