Case Study: The Olympic Torch

Having seen the footage of protestors trying to extinguish the flame, I have come to the conclusion that North Korean activists should avoid using the tactics employed by the Pro-Tibet protesters, which is the opposite from OFK’s conclusion. While the overall strategy of embarrassing China is sound, I cannot imagine any sympathy from Chinese people from these pics. I have to agree with the ESWN author that those issues are probably not going to mainstream for awhile.

One of the biggest mistake I see in the North Korean human rights movement is that it remains a Korean-centric movement. Considering that northeast China is ground zero, I do not understand why no one tries to engage Chinese people. It seems the only time a Chinese person ever attends a LiNK event is when I’m there. I am not asking them to set up shop in the mainland. But there are about 40 million Chinese living overseas many with ties back to the country. And the Falun Gong can attest, Hong Kong is a pretty good place to set things up.

I cannot find a single reason why the Chinese would support repatriating North Korean refugees other than the fact that most of them do not know it is happening. So rather than marginalize Chinese people to the cause, it is more helpful to engage them.