B.C. protesters glad to be home after 36-hour detention in China
Last Updated: Friday, August 10, 2007 | 7:59 AM PT
CBC News
Two protesters arrested in China earlier this week received a hero's welcome at Vancouver International Airport Thursday afternoon.
Yvon Raoul welcomes his daughter, Melanie, back to Vancouver after she was detained in China.
(Doris Sun/CBC)
Melanie Raoul and Sam Price were among eight protesters who unfurled a 42-square-metre banner reading "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008" in English and Chinese from the Great Wall.
Raoul and Prince, both from Vancouver, were arrested Tuesday, then deported from China after their release on Wednesday and flown to Hong Kong.
"We were told to sit in their chairs," Raoul recalled of the pair's arrest and 36-hour detention by Chinese authorities.
"We would have 15- or 20-minute spurts of sleep where we just put our head on the table. At that point, police authority would take us in for questioning," she told CBC News.
"It'll take a long time to process," Price added. "But I'm very excited to be home — very happy!"
Sam Price, seen here with mother Caroline, said on Thursday he's happy to be home.
(Doris Sun/CBC)
Raoul's parents said they were very worried after reading the news that their daughter had been detained in China.
"I prefer if she doesn't do it again for a while," Yvon Raoul said. "I want to keep my kids close."
Despite their parents' worries, the two activists said they would do it again in a heartbeat. However, they've got no plans to return to China anytime soon.
The group they belong to, Students for a Free Tibet, timed its demonstration to coincide with one-year countdown celebrations of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
Another protester, Lhadon Tethong, 31, was also arrested Wednesday. The Victoria-born activist was not directly involved in the Great Wall protest, but spent her time in China writing a blog, and posting videos and photos online about what the group calls China's "propaganda campaign" leading up to next year's Olympic Games.
Tethong, the group's executive director now living in New York, was due to arrive in Toronto Thursday evening.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- Police are looking for a light-coloured Chrysler with damage to the driver's front side after a pedestrian was hit in Surrey, B.C., early Sunday morning. more »
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- A Vancouver man who climbed the world's highest mountain is back home and talking about the adventure. more »
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- A sushi restaurant in Fort Langley, B.C., was damaged in a fire early Sunday morning. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria, B.C., native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- B.C. NDP calls for unity in fighting coast guard closure
- Surrey RCMP seek hit-run driver
- B.C. man who scaled Everest returns home
- Fort Langley restaurant damaged in fire
- Passengers' families sue for fatal B.C. plane crash
- B.C. Coast Guard Auxiliary gets new name
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Psych ward escapes worry neighbours
- Gang forum honours Surrey 6 victim
