A tattoo artist from Boulder expelled from China with three others after unfurling pro-Tibet banners from atop light poles outside China’s showpiece Olympic stadium said authorities questioned them for 10 hours, threatened them with jail and refused to let them call the U.S. Embassy.
Rotating teams of interrogators at a makeshift police station on a technical college campus quizzed the activists about Chinese who aided them on their mission, Phillip Bartell said in an interview Thursday after arriving in San Francisco.
The police questioned the four activists separately seeking details on locals, including those who rented them an apartment and ferried them around, Bartell said, adding that he and others tried to protect the Chinese they’d met, even when told they could face five days in jail.
“I said, ‘I would really like to speak with my embassy.’ They refused. They said, ‘You answer our questions, and maybe we will let you talk to your embassy.’ ”
Eventually Bartell, 34; Tirian Mink, 32, of Portland, Ore; and two British activists were released unharmed at Beijing’s airport, where authorities had them pay for their own tickets home and put them on planes. Bartell and Mink were flown to Los Angeles, while Iain Thom, 24, and Lucy Fairbrother, 23, were sent via Frankfurt to London.
“I expected a lot harsher treatment,” Bartell said. “They’re on their best behavior around the Games.”
His account clashed with Beijing Olympics spokesman Sun Weide’s assertion to The Associated Press in China on Wednesday that the pro-Tibet demonstrators were not detained.
Chinese officials on Thursday defended their actions.
“What they were doing broke Chinese law, so it’s quite understandable that the authorities threw them out,” said Defa Tong, spokesman at China’s consulate in San Francisco.
While he declined comment on whether foreign detainees should have access to embassies, Tong said the questioning is normal. “You break the law, the police can ask a few questions.”
Three protest venues have been set up in Beijing, Tong said. “If (visitors) have any views, they can go there.”
U.S. officials said Chinese authorities notified them after the activists were deported.
“The United States strongly supports the internationally recognized right to freedom of expression,” State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said. “We call on China to use the opportunity of the Olympics to demonstrate greater openness and tolerance and to respect the fundamental and universally recognized right of all persons to peacefully express their views.”
A practicing Buddhist who owns Rising Tide Tattoo in Boulder, Bartell said he’s uninjured except for rope scrapes from shimmying up the 120-foot light pole — a feat he practiced on trees and poles in Colorado. He flew to China a week ago on a tourist visa with the aim of protesting China’s domination of Tibet.
Atop the light poles, Bartell and crew unfurled 140-square- foot banners that said “Tibet Will Be Free” and other slogans in English with Chinese translations. This was the first protest at an Olympic site.
The backdrop for Bartell’s demonstration, China’s showpiece Bird’s Nest national stadium, is where the opening ceremony is to begin today, with President Bush among the world leaders attending.
Bruce Finley: 303.954.1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com
