Former Tibetan Prisoner Speaks

Adhe Tapontsang spoke yesterday evening about being tortured, raped and starved, and of watching the Chinese kill her friends and family during her 27 years in a Chinese prison as China consolidated its control over her Tibetan homeland.

Tapontsang is a Tibetan woman who was imprisoned for resisting the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Her speech, translated by Divinity School students Ngawang Jorden, was made in pointed opposition to the upcoming visit to Harvard by Jiang Zemin, China's president.

Jiang refuses to negotiate with the Dalai Lama for Tibetan independence.

China invaded Tibet in 1950. For the next six years, Tapontsang and her husband worked with other Tibetans to resist the Chinese. In 1956, Tapontsang said, she believes her husband was poisoned. Until her arrest in 1958, Tapontsang orga-

nized an underground women's movement to aid Tibetan guerrillas.

"I had two children when I was arrested." Tapontsang said. "My daughter was a year old. My son was four, and when he tried to hold onto me, the Chinese kicked him."

Trying to follow her, her son fell into a river and drowned. She has not seen her daughter since.

According to Tapontsang, who eventually lived in eight different prisons, her life ran the gamut from sexual exploitation to starvation.

"We were not allowed to wash ourselves in prison," Tapontsang said of one prison. "But most of the young women, including myself, were told by the commander to do the laundry and clean his quarters, were we were raped daily."

She recalled another prison where 12,019 prisoners died in three years.

"Starvation was so severe that people tried to eat dead people's flesh. But the corpses didn't have any flesh on them, only skin, which was very tough to eat. Some caught worms and ate them. I tried but decided I'd rather die," she said.

Tapontsang said she became one of only four women survivors of that camp. Tapontsang said that she was convinced she survived against great odds because of her continuing faith in the Dalai Lama and Buddhism.

According to fliers that organizers handed out at the talk, more than one million Tibetans have been killed since the Chinese invasion in 1950. About 120,000 Tibetans are now living as refugees in Nepal, India and the rest of the world. Five million Tibetans remain in Tibet.

When Tapontsang was released from prison in 1986, she said, she returned to Kham-her home region-in Tibet.

"I went back to my hometown, where I stayed for a year," she said. "But then I decided not to stay longer because in prison we promised each other that whoever would survive would go out and tell the world what was happening."

In 1987, Tapontsang left Tibet for India to report to the Dalai Lama, beginning her travels speaking for Tibetan independence. On the suggestion of the Dalai Lama, she detailed her prison life in her recently-published book Ama Adhe: The Voice That Remembers.

Tapontsang's tour is being funded by Wisdom Publications-the publishing arm of the Foundation for Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, and the publisher of her book. For the next two months, Tapontsang will be touring North America to tell her story.

While detailing the horrors Tapontsang claimed the Chinese inflicted on the Tibetans, however, she tried to differentiate between the Chinese communist leadership and the Chinese people.

"I want to make it clear that the Chinese are not bad, but the communist leaders led by Jiang. I see the Chinese and Tibetans as suffering under the same regime." Tapontsang said.

All of the 150 students who attended the speech stood at the end to give Tapontsang a standing ovation.

"I think a talk like Adhe's brings a world of experience that is not normally accessible to the Harvard student," said Metta McGarvey, a second-year graduate student at the Divinity School and one of the organizers of the event. "I think very few people ever read in detail about these kinds of abuses and it's even more extraordinary to meet someone who's actually gone through all this."

Some students at the event were critical of Harvard's decision to invite Jiang Zemin to speak at the University.

"I just think that Harvard is giving up its ideals and following the trend in government to give priority to politics," said Jan Vihan '98-'99.

"It's sad that Harvard supports the Chinese communist regime, following the regrettable attitude of the Clinton-Gore team," said David Heyrovsky, a graduate student.

"It's crucial that we make a strong statement to Jiang Zemin and the world at large that we are outraged at the atrocities against humanity committed by the Chinese government," said Samuel Shapiro, a student at the Divinity School. "If you're not outraged, you are not paying attention."

The members of Students for a Free Tibet, who organized Tapontsang's talk at Harvard, said that they would participate in a protest rally on Nov. 1 around Sanders Theatre when Jiang Zemin arrives at Harvard.

There will also be a hunger strike in Swedenborg Chapel between Quincy and Kirkland Streets, from 9 a.m. on Oct. 31 to 9 a.m. on Nov. 2, the duration of Jiang's visit to Boston

nized an underground women's movement to aid Tibetan guerrillas.

"I had two children when I was arrested." Tapontsang said. "My daughter was a year old. My son was four, and when he tried to hold onto me, the Chinese kicked him."

Trying to follow her, her son fell into a river and drowned. She has not seen her daughter since.

According to Tapontsang, who eventually lived in eight different prisons, her life ran the gamut from sexual exploitation to starvation.

"We were not allowed to wash ourselves in prison," Tapontsang said of one prison. "But most of the young women, including myself, were told by the commander to do the laundry and clean his quarters, were we were raped daily."

She recalled another prison where 12,019 prisoners died in three years.

"Starvation was so severe that people tried to eat dead people's flesh. But the corpses didn't have any flesh on them, only skin, which was very tough to eat. Some caught worms and ate them. I tried but decided I'd rather die," she said.

Tapontsang said she became one of only four women survivors of that camp. Tapontsang said that she was convinced she survived against great odds because of her continuing faith in the Dalai Lama and Buddhism.

According to fliers that organizers handed out at the talk, more than one million Tibetans have been killed since the Chinese invasion in 1950. About 120,000 Tibetans are now living as refugees in Nepal, India and the rest of the world. Five million Tibetans remain in Tibet.

When Tapontsang was released from prison in 1986, she said, she returned to Kham-her home region-in Tibet.

"I went back to my hometown, where I stayed for a year," she said. "But then I decided not to stay longer because in prison we promised each other that whoever would survive would go out and tell the world what was happening."

In 1987, Tapontsang left Tibet for India to report to the Dalai Lama, beginning her travels speaking for Tibetan independence. On the suggestion of the Dalai Lama, she detailed her prison life in her recently-published book Ama Adhe: The Voice That Remembers.

Tapontsang's tour is being funded by Wisdom Publications-the publishing arm of the Foundation for Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, and the publisher of her book. For the next two months, Tapontsang will be touring North America to tell her story.

While detailing the horrors Tapontsang claimed the Chinese inflicted on the Tibetans, however, she tried to differentiate between the Chinese communist leadership and the Chinese people.

"I want to make it clear that the Chinese are not bad, but the communist leaders led by Jiang. I see the Chinese and Tibetans as suffering under the same regime." Tapontsang said.

All of the 150 students who attended the speech stood at the end to give Tapontsang a standing ovation.

"I think a talk like Adhe's brings a world of experience that is not normally accessible to the Harvard student," said Metta McGarvey, a second-year graduate student at the Divinity School and one of the organizers of the event. "I think very few people ever read in detail about these kinds of abuses and it's even more extraordinary to meet someone who's actually gone through all this."

Some students at the event were critical of Harvard's decision to invite Jiang Zemin to speak at the University.

"I just think that Harvard is giving up its ideals and following the trend in government to give priority to politics," said Jan Vihan '98-'99.

"It's sad that Harvard supports the Chinese communist regime, following the regrettable attitude of the Clinton-Gore team," said David Heyrovsky, a graduate student.

"It's crucial that we make a strong statement to Jiang Zemin and the world at large that we are outraged at the atrocities against humanity committed by the Chinese government," said Samuel Shapiro, a student at the Divinity School. "If you're not outraged, you are not paying attention."

The members of Students for a Free Tibet, who organized Tapontsang's talk at Harvard, said that they would participate in a protest rally on Nov. 1 around Sanders Theatre when Jiang Zemin arrives at Harvard.

There will also be a hunger strike in Swedenborg Chapel between Quincy and Kirkland Streets, from 9 a.m. on Oct. 31 to 9 a.m. on Nov. 2, the duration of Jiang's visit to Boston