Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A large group of Tibetan residents in Japan and their supporters gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on Wednesday (March 10) to commemorate the Lhasa independence uprising against the Chinese central government on March 10, 1959.

Surrounded by police, the Tibetans sang slogans aimed at the Chinese Communist Party and demanded the independence of Tibet and the release of political prisoners “held by China.”

One of the protesters held up a sign in front of the Chinese embassy with skulls burning in the middle of an Olympic flame. Other protesters called for a boycott of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, saying human rights abuses against the Tibetan minority should not be forgiven.

Every March 10, the Tibetans in exile celebrate this date when Tibetans rose up against the Chinese central government. The revolt ended in a massacre by the People’s Liberation Army.

Chinese figures say around 5,000 died, but the Tibetans say the true figure is closer to 87,000.

Buddhist religious leader the Dalai Lama was forced to live in exile in India.

During the demonstration, other people facing “political repression” from the Chinese government, such as Mongols, Uyghurs and an exiled Hong Kong man, took turns at the microphone to show their solidarity with the Tibetan people.