The October 1 gathering brought together Uyghurs, Mongolians, Tibetans, Kazakhs, and their supporters.

The Diplomat
Date: October 19, 2020
By: Wilder Alejandro Sanchez

Protests took place in major cities across the world on October 1 – China’s National Day – to highlight the repressive activities of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) against various communities that live under its rule. I covered the protests that took place in New York City as part of the “Global Day of Action,” where roughly 150 people gathered in front of the United Nations headquarters to make their voices heard.

Hosted by movements like Students for a Free Tibet, Keep Taiwan Free, the World Uyghur Congress, and the Southern Mongolia Congress, the peaceful event brought together Uyghurs, Mongolians, Tibetans, Kazakhs, and their supporters. Dozens of banners were clearly visible to demonstrate to passing pedestrians that this was a gathering of various nationalities that had one common objective: to highlight the Chinese government’s repressive strategies and demand change. “Down, down CCP” (the Chinese Communist Party), “Free Tibet,” “Free Hong Kong” were some of the chants that could be clearly heard. Similarly, banners featured slogans like “Resist” and “Just say ‘No’ to the Chinese Communist Party,” and also displayed support for the “Independence of East Turkestan” (also known as Xinjiang). One banner also demanded that the Chinese government must be held accountable for the “genocide” that Beijing is carrying out against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Kyrgyz, and other groups in Xinjiang.

One additional banner read “Falun Dafa is Good.” More commonly known as Falun Gong, this religious movement promotes meditation and slow-moving exercises. Due to its popularity among millions of Chinese citizens and its spiritual teachings, Beijing has cracked down on the movement, banning it as a cult.

The NYC event also had a number of speakers that discussed the Chinese government’s policies in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia; the repressive activities against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong; and threats against Taiwan.    [FULL STORY]