Not the smartest protesterI completely agree with the cause, and I applaud the boldness of the woman who was staged a mock hanging at the Chinese consulate. Great TV, drew attention to Tibet, everything a good demonstration should do, and I'm sorry she got hurt and there ought to be an investigation and all that ....
But I must say: Climbing on the roof of the Chinese consulate was not the brightest move.
Under international law, that's sovereign Chinese territory. And the U.S. and China are not exactly on perfect friendly terms these days. I bet there's all kinds of fancy spy equipment and electronics on that roof, and there may be a way into the consulate from up there, and no nation likes people sneaking into or climbing around on their embassies and consulates.
Can you imagine what the Marine guards would do if a Chinese protester climbed onto the roof of the U.S. embassy in Beijing?
Nyendak Wangden is lucky she didn't get shot.
digg •
del.icio.us •
sphere •
google
•
Comments (2)
I'm not saying it would be a good thing (or even legal) if the Chinese guards fired on her. I'm just saying that in this day and age, with fears of terrorism and international relations as dicey as they are, stuff like that could easily happen. I'm not saying that' good, just that it's reality.
Posted by Tim Redmond | August 7, 2008 02:39 PM
Marine guards at US embassies are under orders never to fire on protesters even if they breach the embassy's walls. They're there only to protect staff and not facilities, which is why US embassies such as those in Serbia, Macedonia, Pakistan and Iran, have been attacked and burned in the past without a single protester being fired on by a US Marine guard.
While the Chinese consulate may be Chinese sovereign territory international law does still apply to the way it conducts its relations with its host country. It would be a huge violation of diplomatic protocol for a Chinese consulate security guard to fire on a protester - even if they did breach the consulate's security.
Posted by Shane | August 7, 2008 04:11 PM