MV Greenpeace / PC 8023
Position: Noon Pos: 22 40'N 116 44'E
June 15th, 1996
Day 30

Kiaora, It is Tanya back again. Sorry about a couple of days being missed.

As you heard from Dima, we made it 6 miles inside Chinese territorial waters and within a couple of hours were making our way back out. We are now approx. one and a half days from Hong Kong, 35 miles off the coast of China, in the Taiwan strait.

There is an interesting mood on board the ship. A crew of 32 people of 16 nationalities came together for the for the sole purpose of taking a message to the Chinese, and no one knowing what the outcome of doing this would be.

Greenpeace began in the 1970's because of nuclear testing and for the past 25 years it has been a passionate issue, tackled from many different angles. To have the CTBT signed by all the nuclear states, unconditionally, is the beginning of the `light at the end of the tunnel'.

Before crossing into territorial waters there was a quiet tension on board and now a day later I think most of us are replaying in our minds what happened.

We are 32 people with 32 views, working as a team. Some are frustrated that maybe we could of done more. Experimenting and testing nuclear weapons specifically designed to destroy life, is serious. We are all the guardians of this planet and should not have to tolerate the “games” that the power brokers of this world play. Others felt we made the best of the situation, approaching peacefully but with determination and getting our message across.

But most importantly, this small ship was representing millions of people, and we are just a little part of the big picture. Many of the people who sent messages of support as we crossed the line have already spent years of their lives working towards a nuclear free world and will continue to do so. They have been a brake on this craziness and the more people pushing the brake pedal the sooner it is going to stop.

Tanya Popp.