Beijing Olympics: two arrested in Greece for protest on eve of torch lighting

Name: China, IOC to ban overseas spectators from 2022 Olympic Winter Games
Uploaded: 2021-10-18T09:26:51.000Z
Duration: 2 min 14 s
Description: China, IOC to ban overseas spectators from 2022 Olympic Winter Games

Exiled Hongkonger Joey Siu one of two who were held and later released after showing banners promoting Hong Kong and Tibetan rights

They repeated calls for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Games over China’s alleged human rights abuses

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Tsela Zoksang and Joey Siu unfurl banners on scaffolding in the Acropolis on Sunday. Photo: Students for a Free Tibet

Linda Lew

Published: 5:26pm, 18 Oct 2021Updated: 11:07pm, 18 Oct 2021

Two people were arrested and later released in Greece after displaying banners before the lighting of the Olympic torch for the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, as human rights groups showed their intention to maintain pressure on China.

Exiled Hong Kong activist Joey Siu, 22, and Tibetan-American student Tsela Zoksang, 18, both US citizens, were arrested in Athens on Sunday before being released on Monday, according to human rights NGO Hong Kong Watch, of which Siu is policy adviser.

They had unfurled banners promoting Hong Kong and Tibetan rights at a rehearsal for Monday’s torch-lighting ceremony in ancient landmark the Acropolis.

Siu and Zoksang have been allowed to leave Greece, but were told they must return to attend court in January, according to global grass-roots network Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), which did not give details of any charges against them.

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China, IOC to ban overseas spectators from 2022 Olympic Winter Games

The pair are members of No Beijing 2022, a coalition of groups that has campaigned for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the Games from China and is calling on governments and sponsors to boycott the event over China’s alleged human rights abuses in the western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, and in Hong Kong.

“Taking this non-violent direct action today is bittersweet as in Hong Kong, if I protested in this way, I would face unpredictable, lengthy jail time, or worse,” Siu told SFT before her arrest.

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