Crowds of upset protesters flooded the Chapel Quadrangle Wednesday evening, interrupting a planned candlelight vigil supporting freedom in Tibet.
Members and supporters of the Duke Human Rights Coalition, led by juniors Daniel Cordero and Adam Weiss, marched from East Campus to West Campus, Tibetan flags in hand, to advocate for the region's freedom from the People's Republic of China.
In response, protesters bearing signs and Chinese flags filled the Chapel Quad, expressing patriotism and criticizing Western media through chants and song.
When the pro-Tibet faction arrived outside the Chapel, protesters swarmed them en masse with chanting and shouting.
"We felt really intimidated. They're violating our right to free speech," Cordero said. "It's really the microcosm of what's going on in China. Just like China's suppressing free speech, so the pro-Chinese protesters were suppressing free speech today by trying to block all our signs, yell louder than us and use space that was reserved for us."
Since the Chinese army crossed into Tibet in 1949, people from around the world have worked to counter the country's hold on the region. The alleged inhumane treatment of Tibetans has caused years of debates and protests.
"Tibet is a part of China and we want the Western media to tell the whole story, not just the negative parts of the story, because that's ridiculous," said Jin Huang, a graduate student at North Carolina State University who came to Duke Wednesday with a group of other Chinese supporters. "They only tell about how the Chinese government is against Tibet, but not about how we helped Tibet."
Many protesters pointed to signs calling for the separation of the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games and politics and said their purpose was to tell the truth and to counteract damage they said has been done by the media. Some supporters of the Chinese cause chanted, "One world, one dream, one China," a modification of the Beijing Olympic Games' motto, "One world, one dream."
Proponents and opponents also passed out hundreds of fliers and CDs in attempts to reveal what each side considered the truth, which led to verbal disputes.
"A lot of Chinese nationalists have come to counterprotest," Cordero said. "They've been singing the Chinese national anthem. I said, 'God bless America' and they all booed me. I yelled out, 'Liberty and justice for all,' and they called me a liar."
Baldel Lobsang, a Tibetan monk from India who arrived in the United States last week, said although he opposes the Chinese government, he still feels love for the Chinese people.
"This is not peace," he said, gesturing toward the Chinese protesters. "I'm not surprised. I always see this in my country."
Weiss, who was escorted from the crowd because of safety concerns, said he was protesting for human rights, freedom of religion and the right to speak any language. He arrived on West Campus just after 7 p.m. shirtless and carrying a Tibetan flag.
"I don't know if most Duke students know about this issue-even know that it's a big deal anymore," he said. "I want people to know what is going on in Tibet, what kind of human rights abuses are going on by the Chinese government, and I believe that it's a personal issue because I'm very interested in this culture."
Officials from the Office of Student Affairs were present at the event, but said they were not aware that the Chinese protesters would be at the vigil until Wednesday morning.
"For me it was gratifying to see there was intelligent dialogue, and I just wish there were more of that," said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta. "I was happy that once the protest and counterprotest sort of went down there were actually pockets of very real conversation. For me that's the best thing that could possibly happen."
Many students said peaceful debates and negotiations are in order. Zhizhong Li, a graduate student in molecular cancer biology who works with the Duke Chinese Student and Scholar Association, said a panel discussion about the issue will take place next week.
Lisa Du and Nancy Wang contributed to this story.
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