Tibetans hold vigil in St. Paul

Tibetans have been seeking an independent state for decades, but activity has been picking up recently because of the attention on the Olympics in Beijing this summer.

Minnesota has a relatively large Tibetan community that has been active in this growing movement.

Several dozen Tibetans sang their national anthem at the Capitol to open their show of solidarity with fellow countrymen who demonstrated in Tibet in March.

About 2,000 Tibetans live in the Twin Cities, the largest population in the United States outside New York City. For many of them, the conflict in Tibet isn't something they can view with a sympathetic eye.

For Minneapolis resident and Tibetan exile Nyima Tsamchoe, it's personal. She's the only one in her family who fled.

Tsamchoe said the most recent violent government crackdown has made it difficult for her to communicate with her family in Tibet.

She was able to connect with them once and her family briefly updated her. They tell her most Tibetans are not allowed to leave their homes even to buy groceries.

"They've been warned that if they are seen stepping out of their houses they will be shot at whether it's an older people, elderly or children or anyone," Tsamchoe said. "So they are bound to their homes right now, they will just be shot at if they are seen outside."

Tsamchoe has been a regular at protests around the Twin Cities. Her husband is one of more than 100 local Tibetans who protested at the Olympic torch run this week in San Francisco. She said these efforts aren't just honoring peaceful demonstrators in Tibet, they're also calling for China to halt Olympic torch runs through Tibet and Mount Everest.

"Protests inside Tibet are for improvement on human rights inside Tibet," Tsamchoe said. "Yes, they do feel it is unfair that a country like China, who has continuously grossly violated human rights in Tibet, is given the opportunity to host these really prestigious Olympic games."

But some members of the Chinese community disagree with these protests.

Shone Zhao said people need to understand the history of Tibet. He said Tibet has always been a part of China and many Chinese overseas are very supportive of the Olympics. He says the Tibetans should separate conflicts within Tibet from the Olympics.

"The Olympics is a whole world event and as part of Chinese {sic}, they should really support the event other than be against it," Zhao said.

Zhao said hosting the Olympics is a great opportunity for China to show the world what it has to offer. He acknowledges that in past cultural revolutions in Tibet, the Chinese government indeed caused a lot of damage to Tibetan culture and treated Tibetans poorly.

Now, he said, the Tibetan economy is doing well thanks to the Chinese government, so Tibetans are better off than they used to be.

Some Tibetans say only the Chinese living within Tibet are benefiting from the country's economy. Local Tibetan Tenzin Thardoe said he can only think of one solution to the problem.

"Pressure from foreign governments will bring some kind of change and will make an impact," he said.

Five more events are scheduled this month in the Twin Cities to protest human rights violations in Tibet.

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