You’ve already heard about the fact that the government of China stepped in at the last minute, blocking many from leaving their country to attend the Lausanne III Congress in Cape Town. See the article at

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/16/world/asia/16china.html

At the main session on Monday evening, Doug Birdsall, the executive chairman of Lausanne, asked us to gesture at a nearby empty chair… in an effort to show TV cameras that “there remains a seat at the table” for the Chinese delegates that weren’t permitted to come — in a show of solidarity. What Doug Birdsall didn’t count on was one passionate delegate who wanted to make the point even more vividly. See the 2 videos at…

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/10980

Don’t miss the *2nd* video, Doug Birdsall’s presentation on the ‘missing Chinese,’ entitled “Truth – Global Issues – China.” See the gentleman raising the empty chair at the 10:40 mark in the video. I couldn’t find a still photo of that shot… but it’s certainly compelling.