CHTHONIC Roars: Panda Is From Tibet, Not China!

For fifty years, Tibet has been imprisoned by a totalitarian Chinese government. After the Chinese army invaded Tibet and claimed it as part of China, millions of people were killed, torn from their homes and separated from their families. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans risked their lives climbing through the freezing and dangerously steep Himalayas to Dharmsala, India.

Freddy Lim, the vocalist of CHTHONIC, who put on the Tibetan Freedom Concert at Taiwan in 2003, invited the BEASTIE BOYS and many other artists to Taiwan to join the concert and give their support to Tibet. This year is the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, and Freddy went to Dharmsala to meet with the Dalai Lama. They both shared the experiences they've had working for freedom in the past year. The Dalai Lama was touched; he gave Freddy much gratitude for what he has done and said: "To support Tibet is to support human rights all over the world."

In this amazing trip, Freddy also visited TCV (Tibetan Children's Village). There are many beautiful young children there, but they have nowhere to go because their parents are still in Tibet. The parents handed their children over to "middlemen" who took them out of the bloody country and away from danger. Some children who make the journey to TCV can't survive the harsh weather of Himalayas or were shot by communist soldiers and died on the way. Those whom Freddy saw in TCV were all lucky survivors. But unfortunately, they'll never ever see their families again.

After returning from Dharmsala, Freddy and the members of CHTHONIC decided to put on an event to raise awareness of human rights and the Tibetan issue. Coincidentally, the Chinese government gave Taiwan two Pandas this year to show their "friendship," as they have done with many other countries. But the funny thing is, the two pandas delivered to Taiwan were called "reunion."

Few people know that the Panda is from Tibet, not China. The Panda and the Yeti have been the two main mascots of Tibet for thousands of years.

After China invaded Tibet in 1949, they divided the territories of Tibet into five parts, making original Tibet smaller and smaller. They cut the territories "Wolong / Wo-Dhom" (from the Tibetan language, meaning "the place where Panda lives") into the "Sichuan" Province of China. China not only invaded their countries, but also invaded people's minds. They tried to distort Tibetan history and the people's national identification.

After the Panda became China's property, they used the animals as their "political tool." Pandas were sent to many other countries to demonstrate Chinese "friendship." The real purpose, however, is to cover-up their sins and the blood left on their hands from those they've invaded and killed, and those whose human rights and freedoms have been destroyed.

Freddy said, "Since CHTHONIC's makeup isn't too different from a panda's face, I might wear panda make-up onstage the next time CHTHONIC plays."

The band took their first successful step in support of Tibet earlier this year by handing out flyers in front of zoo. The flyers explained the panda's true origin. For a link to the Taipei Times' coverage of this event, visit this location.

Freddy and the members of CHTHONIC are hoping people around the world will respond to this event and do whatever they can to support human rights can do in their countries.