Chinese protest Dalai Lama at University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR — Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the University of Michigan Crisler Arena Sunday in support of the Beijing Olympics waving flags and chanting “Dalai Liar,” “CNN Liar” and “We love Tibet. We love China.”

While the Dalai Lama taught on compassion and wisdom for two hours and then delivered the annual Peter M. Wege Lecture on Sustainability, a large, vocal crowd assembled outside. Diane Brown, public information officer for the University of Michigan Department of Public Safety, estimated that 600 to 700 people were protesting.

“A tiny minority are UM students, but a lot of these people are from the community at large, including families,” Brown said. She said the crowd was “vocal and passionate about their issues” but that they were not violent.

Chinese students from Michigan State University, Central Michigan University and Michigan Technical University came in chartered buses to join the protest. Cars drove past honking and waving Chinese flags in support.

As people left the Wege Lecture, one attendee challenged the protesters by chanting, “Free Tibet.” The crowd responded with increased volume and energy in their own chants.

In addition to protesters on the ground, one bystander said a plane had earlier circled over the arena with a banner saying, “Dalai, please stop attacking Olympic flame.”

William, who works for General Motors and came to the United States from China 20 years ago, expressed frustration with media portrayal of China in Tibet. “The media don’t understand us, therefore on TV you only see one side of the story. We never see stories from our side.” He added, “I haven’t seen story about how those Chinese people feel about Tibet, and I’m very much disappointed.”

When asked why the Chinese government is not allowing Western media into Tibet, William said, “I think it is because the Chinese government just doesn’t like you guys.”