One of my neighbors is being held by Chinese authorities in Beijing. James Powderly has been in detention for nearly 55 hours now. His crime? Speaking out for the plight of a Chinese occupied Tibet. He's not alone either. Three other Brooklynites were arrested later in the day.
The Chinese, who are hoping that their efficient oversight of the Beijing Games will wipe away memories of Tiananmen Square, have arrested one of Williamsburg's best-known multi-media artists after discovering that he planned to project a pro-Tibet message on a building in the Chinese capital.
Artist James Powderly has been in a Chinese jail since Aug. 19 - though the official charges are unknown.
...
Though Powderly was apprehended alone, he traveled to Beijing to collaborate with five activists from the group Students for a Free Tibet - including Brooklynites Samantha Corbin, Jacob Blumenfeld, and Lauren Valle - who were arrested later that day after unfurling a light-up "Free Tibet" banner in front of the famed "Bird's Nest" stadium, the student organization said.
The whereabouts of Powderly and his American compatriots remain unclear. A spokesman from Beijing's Municipal Publicity Security Bureau refused to comment on Powderly's arrest, according to the Associated Press.
I would hope that my neighbor James and his fellow Brooklynites will be released soon. Hell, the whole circus leaves town in a few days and it would be best if this was resolved before all the attention shifts away from Beijing. I mean, China treats its own people bad enough while the world's attention is focused squarely upon them. Check out this story about two elderly women sentenced to a years "re-education through labor" for merely being persistent in their efforts to secure a permit to protest in the designated "protest zones" the razing of their homes to make way for the Olympic facilities.
I hope they get out of there and fast.
On the web: Students for a Free Tibet. |
