Protesters call for free Tibet outside state capitol

DES MOINES -– Hundreds of protesters hoisted banners and carried coffins as they marched on the Capitol grounds Wednesday, chanting for a free Tibet and calling the guest of honor at a state dinner Wednesday night a “tyrant.”

The protesters were several blocks away, however, when Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping actually arrived at the Capitol for a dinner of bacon-wrapped pork, butternut squash and sweet corn cheesecake.

Most of the Capitol grounds and the streets around the Statehouse were closed off at 5:30 p.m. to all but the 650 or lawmakers, business leaders, government officials and credentialed media attending the dinner, and they were not reopening until late in the evening. The protesters, meanwhile, were relegated to an area several hundred yards away where they were holding a candlelight vigil.

“The last time we had a head of state visit the Capitol was when President Ronald Reagan came here in 1985 or 1986,” said Iowa State Patrol Capt. Mark Logsdon, who is in charge of security on the Capitol grounds.

He said there were roughly 100 uniformed and non-uniformed officers and security personnel on hand for the event. That included officers from the State Patrol, officials from the U.S. State Department and the Chinese agents responsible for Xi's safety.

Gabriel Feinstein, a member of Students for a Free Tibet from Madison, Wis., and organizer with Midwest Coalition for Tibet, helped organize Wednesday's protests and vigil. He said “close to 500” people came to Iowa to march and bring attention to their cause.

“Our goal is to reach out to the Chinese government and the government in Iowa,” Feinstein said. “We want to send the message that Gov. Branstad cannot shrink from his responsibility to talk about these issues, no matter how much money is on the table.”

The Tibetan Independence Movement calls for the political separation of Tibet from the People's Republic of China. Supporters of the movement say the Tibetans are denied human rights and persecuted by the Chinese.

“This is the most important thing that I could be doing right now,” said Tashi Gangzey, a Minnesotan who carried one of the 17 flag-draped coffins in the procession. Each coffin, Feinstein said, represents a Tibetan who was shot or had self-immolated in the past month.

“There are people dying in Tibet,” Gangzey said. “Compared to that, for me to spend some time down here, it's not a big deal.”

Pro-Tibet protesters also descended onto a secluded block near downtown Muscatine earlier Wednesday while Jinping met with a group of Iowans he befriended during his visit 27 years ago.

Across the street, pro-China demonstrators who had arrived on two buses from Iowa City shouted, “One China” and “Tibet. Part of China.”

Perhaps 100 demonstrators, many of Chinese descent, took part in the demonstrations. It was peaceful, with police only having to give warnings not to block the streets.

It wasn't clear whether Xi noticed the protesters. His car arrived at the home of Roger and Sarah Lande practically unnoticed by the people chanting and carrying signs.

In addition to the Pro-Tibet and Pro-China demonstators, a small number of women carried a sign protesting the treatment of the Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that's been banned in China.

“We have human rights. Chinese have human rights, too,” said Yan Chen Koehler, a native of China who now lives at Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

As the women tried to show their signs to media, pro-China demonstrators repeatedly maneuvered in front of them to block them from view.

There were a handful of American demonstrators at the street corner, along with curious residents who were watching the spectacle.

Kathi Kelly of Davenport carried a sign that read, “America stands for freedom.” She objected to the American government welcoming Xi.

“He stands for everything opposite of what the United States of America stands for,” she said.

Among her complaints: That the Chinese are taking American jobs.

Ed Tibbetts of the Quad City Times contributed to this report.

Iowa Public Television will provide a live online video stream of the opening remarks of the state dinner in Des Moines at 8 p.m. at

http://www.iptv.org/video/detail.cfm/26220/chinese-vice-pres-xi-jinping_20120215