Harvard University has reprimanded undergraduate Megan Howard for shoutingpro-Tibetan slogans during a speech there by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, RFA�s Tibetan service reports.
At a hearing this week, Howard said, she presented her case, answeredquestions, and waited for a decision by the disciplinary panel. �I alsoprinted out all of the e-mails to show the committee and explain tothem that I have never been a troublemaker and what I did was for the causeof Tibetans,� Howard said.
Once the panel made its decision, Howard �received an e-mail saying theydecided to admonish me, that they will put a letter ... in myfile. That means if I apply for a job, they might see my file. It�s nothingserious.�
During Wen�s Dec. 11 speech, Howard shouted �Tibet is for the Tibetanpeople. We will never stop fighting. I am the voice for those in Tibet whocannot speak.�
After her outburst�which drew a rebuke from university president LawrenceSummers�Howard was told to sit down. Eventually she left with the police andreiterated that she probably wouldn�t face seriousconsequences.
�I was worried about being put on probation or getting suspended. But at thesame time, I was thinking that this is America, where we have freedom ofspeech. It would be unfair for them to do anything to me. I care aboutTibetans and was prepared for the consequences,� she said.
Howard said after her hearing, she was greeted by several Tibetans waitingfor her outside the building, offering her a letter of support with morethan 100 signatures. �That was really kind and I was grateful for theirsupport," she said.
Howard visited Tibet in August 1999 at age 16. She said shehad received many phone calls and e-mails from Tibetans worldwide whothanked her for speaking up on their behalf.
Wen spoke at Harvard on the final leg of his four-day official visit to theUnited States in December, calling for mutual respect among differentcultures.
"The civilizations of different nations are all fruits of human wisdom andcontribution to human progress,� he said. "Conflicts triggered by ignoranceor prejudice are sometimes more dreadful than those caused by contradictoryinterests... We propose to seek common ground in the spirit of equality andtolerance, and carry on extensive inter-civilization dialogue and closercultural exchanges."
Human rights groups and Western observers routinely criticize Beijing forits heavy-handed treatment of Tibetans in the Tibetan Autonomous Region(TAR) and elsewhere in western China.#####