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the chinese government has taken its propaganda war over Tibet to Toronto City Hall. Councillor Mario Silva helped the Chinese consulate and the Toronto Confederation of Chinese Canadian Organizations to stage the exhibit, called Moments Of Truth In Nature And Culture.
The opening on July 9 offered an opportunity for Consul General Sun Shuxian to spin his government’s party line on the contested territory.
“In 1959, democratic reform was carried out in (Tibet), which put an end to the shackles of the brutal Middle Age feudal serfdom and theocratic society in old Tibet and freed the Tibetans from their former masters,” he said in his speech. “Freedom of religious belief and religious activities are protected accordingly, based the constitution and law.”
John Tackaberry from Amnesty International disagrees. “Any suggestion that the situation in Tibet is currently peaceful and non-oppressive is simply not factually correct.”
Brad Ross, media supervisor for the city of Toronto, downplays the city’s role in this exhibition. “One could say there are all sorts of takes on politics, but as long as anything isn’t sexist or racist, or offensive in that nature, there shouldn’t be a problem,” he says.
