HOLLYWOOD leading man Harrison Ford went to Washington yesterday to take up a new role, that of urging the White House not to turn its back on Tibet.
Issuing a direct request to President Clinton to meet openly with the Dalai Lama, the actor took the starring role in the Senate hearing.
Speaking of the 'brutal Chinese occupation of Tibet', Ford said: 'Certainly we have a great deal to gain in our continuing relationship with China, but the cost of that relationship should not be the freedom and security of the Tibetan people - it's unconscionable.' Asked by members of the East Asia and Pacific sub-committee what the administration should do, Ford called for a 'continual addressing of the issue with the Chinese'.
The actor testified with his wife, Melissa Mathison, a screenwriter whose research for a movie on the early life of the Dalai Lama took the couple to Tibet in 1992.
The couple brought with them Gendun Rinchen, their tour guide during the trip, who was later jailed by authorities for nearly a year and only released after an international campaign led by the Fords.
Mr Rinchen, who told senators he was accused of being a Western spy, said he had been under constant threat of torture, but considered himself lucky to get out. The authorities continued to torture Tibetan monks, nuns and other political prisoners, and were becoming ever more sophisticated in their methods.