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When Rinchen Dhondup was 12 years old he trekked barefoot over the Himalayan mountains - the highest in the world - to flee the Chinese Government.
Memories of his tedious journey - including being arrested by Nepalese police - will stay with him forever, so he can understand how the protesters sticking up for Tibetan independence feel.
Mr Dhondup, now 35, was in Aotea Square yesterday objecting to the crackdown on anti-Chinese protests that has left about 100 Tibetans dead and many imprisoned.
Members of Friends of Tibet, Amnesty International and supporters turned out to sign a petition pleading for Tibet's independence and the release of the protesters.
The group then proceeded down Queen St chanting, holding Tibetan flags, candles and signs that read: "Stop killing, start talking" and "China, allow UN investigation".
Mr Dhondup has not seen his parents since he fled 23 years ago with a group of friends looking for a better life in India.
He studied English and science - something he wouldn't have been able to achieve had he stayed in Tibet - and came to New Zealand, where about 45 Tibetans are living, mostly in Auckland.
"The Chinese offered us free education, they were trying to brainwash us. The Tibetans don't want their children brainwashed."
Mr Dhondup, who works as a Chinese translator in Auckland, told the Herald he supported the Dalai Lama's offer yesterday to resign, saying that many people thought he was "too kind" towards the Chinese.
He urged Prime Minister Helen Clark to call for restraint in Tibet when in China next month to sign a free trade agreement.
However, Friends of Tibet president Thutan Kesang said Tibet might still be able to work with China.
"If we were under the umbrella of China, let us keep our culture, our religion, our language. Let them organise foreign policy, let them organise the military."
Mr Kesang said he came to New Zealand from Lhasa, Tibet's capital, in 1967 to get "as far away from China as possible".
