Members of UW-Madison's Students for a Free Tibet and other local Free Tibet activists were asked to leave Madison's China Town Hall event Monday for allegedly disrupting a discussion.
Madison participated in the international event held by the National Committee on US- China Relations to facilitate dialogue about Sino-American ties with a focus on energy issues.
Director of Madison Center of Foreign Relations Caroline Garber said she took the microphone from Students for a Free Tibet member Gabriel Feinstein when she felt his presentation contradicted the event's non-partisan mission.
Feinstein and the other activists were then asked to leave. Feinstein continued speaking as he exited the room, and a fellow activist held a banner that read ""Human Rights in Tibet Now!""
In September, The National Committee on US-China Relations held an honorary dinner for Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Wen Jiabao in New York.
Due to Jiabao's opposition to the liberation of Tibet, the relationship between Jainbo and the National Committee drew the activists to the Madison forum.
Garber said the activists were asked to leave because of their manner rather than content.
""I had expected him to speak about something that was totally non-partisan … something that was fairly bland,"" Garber said. ""This is not a forum for people getting on their soapbox. It's more of a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. It's not because it was on Tibet.""
Feinstein said the town hall was not bipartisan in the first place if the issue of Tibet was not allowed into the discussion.
""We were prepared to discuss and not make a scene,"" said Feinstein. ""We were silenced, and that's when the banner came out.""
Tenzin Wangzor, who held the banner, said human rights violations, specifically within Tibet, should be discussed amongst Sino-American relations.
""The US should put pressure on China,"" said Wangzor. ""It should send a message that human rights should be part of the topic.""
