Hands Off Tibet!

Tell the Companies Building the Tibet Railway to Stay Away

Download this cartoon and post it up in your community to educate people about Bombardier and the railway.
Download this flyer and spread the word to stop Bombardier!

See photos and read the press release about protests at the June 7th Bombardier shareholders meeting.

Background Information

One of the most threatening projects undertaken by the Chinese government in Tibet is construction of a railway from Gormo to Lhasa, Tibet's capital, that will connect Tibet for the first time with China's nationwide railway grid. The project is part of China's "Western Development Campaign," which aims to consolidate China's political and military power over Tibet. Now, four companies - Canada's Bombardier, Power Corporation, and Nortel, and U.S. corporate giant GE - have announced their involvement.

Bombardier, a manufacturer of airplanes, recreational vehicles and rail transportation equipment, will lead a consortium that includes Power Corporation of Canada, a financial holding company, and state-owned China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry (Group) Corporation, to supply the Chinese Ministry of Railways with 361 specially designed rail cars for the Tibet line. Nortel Networks, a global telecommunications provider, will supply a digital wireless communications network (GSM-R), while GE will build the locomotives for the train.

By partnering the Chinese government on the construction of the railway, these businesses have made themselves partners in China's occupation of Tibet.

As with previous railways built in Mongolia and East Turkestan, the Tibet railway will greatly speed colonization of the area. It will allow vastly increased numbers of Chinese settlers and military troops to be brought in, and more natural resources to be exploited and removed from Tibet, with most economic benefits bypassing the many Tibetans who live on the outskirts of Tibet's centrally controlled economy, beyond the reach of the railway. The cost of the railway is almost triple the amount Beijing spent in the Tibet Autonomous Region on healthcare and education between 1952 and 2000.

What Can you Do?

These companies are all susceptible to pressure from individuals - as consumers and as the employers of government representatives who help them get wealthy. Please contact the companies by calling them, or sending letters by mail or fax Tell them not to fund China's colonization of Tibet!

Download a sample letter or petition.
Keep reading for contact information and talking points.

You can read more in "Crossing the Line: China's Railway to Lhasa, Tibet," published by the International Campaign for Tibet.
Contact information:

Laurent Beaudoin, Chairman & CEO, Bombardier Inc.
800 Rene-Levesque Blvd. West
Montreal, QC H3B 1Y8 Canada
Phone: 1 514-861-9481
Fax: 1 514-861-7053

Paul Desmarais, Jr., Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Andre Desmarais, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer
Power Corporation of Canada
751 Victoria Square
Montreal, QC H2Y 2J3 Canada
Phone: 1 514-286-7425
Fax: 1 514-286-7485

William Owens
Vice Chair & CEO, Nortel Networks
8200 Dixie Road
Brampton, ON L6T 5P6 Canada
Phone: 1 905-863-1077
Fax: 1 905-863-8407

Ms. Charlene Begley
President and CEO, GE Transportation & Rail
14-440 2901 East Lake Road
Erie, Pennsylvania 16531 USA

Talking points:

1. At the admission of Chinese government leaders, the Gormo-Lhasa railway is politically motivated, with a goal of consolidating China's control over Tibet. It is opposed by Tibetans both inside and outside Tibt.

2. The railway will facilitate increased population transfer of Chinese settlers into Tibet, further marginalizing Tibetans physically, socially, and economically and posing a threat to the survival of their culture and identity.

3. The railway will facilitate the exploitation and removal of natural resources that belong to Tibetans.

4. The railway will improve China's military maneuverability, enable rapid troop deployments, and facilitate the expansion of People's Liberation Army bases and increases in nuclear weapons stockpiles and missile deployments on the Tibetan plateau.

5. The railway is expected to cause widespread erosion, damage to vegetation, disruption of migration patterns, and contamination of water bodies including the Drichu (Yangtse), Ngochu (Salween), and Zachu (Mekong) rivers, sources of water for more than one billion people.

6. Western companies should not be partnering the Chinese government in this scheme