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BEIJING — Seven Canadians have been deported from China following a rash of pro-Tibetan protests in Beijing in recent days that has prompted Chinese authorities to tighten security further.
Steve Andersen, 28, from Edmonton, and Maude Cote, 28, from Montreal, along with a Tibetan-German woman were arrested by plainclothes police officers after they reportedly unfurled a Tibetan flag just after 3 p.m. Sunday in Beijing, just outside the southern entrance of Tiananmen Square.
Padma-Dolma Fielitz, 21, the Tibetan-German woman and another activist held the Tibetan national flag aloft, according to Students for a Free Tibet, while others unfurled a banner.
The protest lasted approximately five minutes.
A protester descends a pole to an awaiting policeman after hanging a banner which reads 'Tibet will be free' near the National Stadium in Beijing on Wednesday. (Reuters)
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A short time after those arrests, Mike Hudema, a prominent spokesman for Greenpeace in Alberta, was detained along with four other people from Edmonton and Vancouver in a Beijing hotel, their luggage thoroughly searched before being questioned individually in the basement.
The five Canadians who were detained at a Beijing hotel before subsequently being deported were identified as Mr. Hudema, 31, Jasmine Freed, 27, Paul Christopher Baker, 29, Denise Ogonoski, 26, and William Nelson, 26.
All seven were deported either late Sunday or early Monday, quickly being shuffled to Hong Kong before being left to find their own way back to Canada.
Mr. Hudema, Mr. Andersen and Ms. Ogonoski made the news in Canada last April when a group of Greenpeace protesters dropped from the rafters on ropes to unveil an anti-oil sands banner behind Ed Stelmach during his premier's dinner in Edmonton.
Mr. Hudema said on Sunday that he and several members of the group he was with were in Beijing to observe and did not take part in any protests.
"They were basically going there to witness what it was like on the ground in Beijing, to use the Olympics to legitimize their rule over Tibet and to whitewash their human rights record," said Melanie Raoul, a spokeswoman for the group based in Toronto.
"Their intention was to go and see how the Chinese government are using the Games and their assumptions were confirmed."
Ms. Raoul said it doesn't appear any Canadians with her organization remain on the ground in China, but it's hard to be sure because demonstrations in Beijing have been sporadic and have come without prior warning.
Kate Woznow, a spokeswoman for Students for a Free Tibet, said from an undisclosed location that the deportations were done after quick interrogations by police.
"From my understanding it was all very swift," Ms. Woznow said.
Ms. Cote, 28, a member of Students for a Free Tibet's chapter in Quebec, told The Canadian Press in an interview on Saturday that she had been followed around by police and plainclothes officers for weeks and had expected to be deported any day.
"We want to send a clear message that the truth has to be exposed," she said.
Two Americans, including the founding director of Students for a Free Tibet, John Hocevar, 40, of Austin, Tex., were also deported.
Mr. Hocevar had been in Beijing since Aug. 4, blogging and writing.
Another Canadian, 24-year-old Chris Schwartz, was also reportedly deported from China early Sunday.
Mr. Schwartz, a student at Montreal's Concordia University and a long-time member of the pro-Tibetan movement, was taken into custody after a mock "die-in" at Tiananmen Square to protest China's occupation of Tibet.
Wrapped in Tibetan flags, he and a small group of people covered their mouths with fake blood before denouncing the occupation.
Police quickly moved in and detained them, the entire incident caught on video.
During the lead-up to the Olympics, Tibetan activists have tried to ramp up pressure on China, especially in the wake of violent protests in Tibet back in March.
Many Tibetans believe China forcibly annexed their territory when Chinese troops invaded in 1950. China insists Tibet has always been part of its territory.
"We've been in contact with all of them and they are well," said Tsering Lama, a spokeswoman based in Toronto for the group.
"They are all supposed be arriving in Vancouver and Montreal on Monday night and Tuesday morning in Canada."
