BEIJING—Five US activists and an American graffiti artist were detained in Beijing on Tuesday after they displayed a “Free Tibet” banner near an Olympics venue, says a pro-Tibet group.
According to the group, Students for a Free Tibet, the five activists were arrested before midnight for displaying a banner using tiny blue light-emitting diodes which said “Free Tibet” in both Chinese and English. This happened near the Beijing National Stadium also known as the “Bird's Nest.”
The graffiti artist, James Powderly, the co-founder of New York's Graffiti Research Lab, planned on displaying messages on popular buildings in Beijing, using a small green laser projector.
According to his colleague, Nathan Dorjee, Powderly was going to project a message which said “Free Tibet” as well as other messages that could have been as large as three stories high on different buildings in Beijing.
The Chinese have shirked away from commenting on the issue, saying that they were not aware of the protest.
Since the start of the Olympics, Chinese authorities have arrested numerous activists who are using the Beijing Olympics as a vehicle to highlight China's poor human rights record as well as its persecution of Tibetans.
