Riot in Tibet: The true face of Western media

Uncle Ver SG SG

The recent troubles in Tibet are a replay of events that happened two decades ago. On Oct. 1, 1987, Buddhist monks were demonstrating peacefully at the Barkor -- the famous market street around the central cathedral in Lhasa -- when police began beating and arresting them. To ordinary Tibetans, who view monks as "treasures," the sight was intolerable -- not only in itself, but because it stimulated unpleasant memories that Tibetan Buddhists had been harboring for years.

A few angry young men then began throwing stones at the Barkor police station. More and more joined, and then they set fires, overturned cars and began shouting "Independence for Tibet!" This is almost exactly what we saw in Lhasa two weeks ago.

The fundamental cause of these recurrent events is a painful dilemma that lives inside the minds of Tibetan monks. When the Chinese government demands that they denounce their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, monks are forced to choose between obeying, which violates their deepest spiritual convictions, and resisting, which can lead to loss of government registry and physical expulsion from monasteries.

From time to time monks have used peaceful demonstrations to express their anguish. When they have done this, an insecure Chinese government, bent on "annihilating unstable elements" in the "emergent stage," has reacted with violent repression. This, in turn, triggers violence from Tibetans.

In recent decades, the Chinese government's policy for pacifying Tibet has been to combine the allure of economic development on the one hand with the threat of force on the other. Experience has shown that this approach does not work.

The most efficient route to peace in Tibet is through the Dalai Lama, whose return to Tibet would immediately alleviate a number of problems. Much of the current ill will, after all, is a direct result of the Chinese government's verbal attacks on the Dalai Lama, who, for Tibetan monks, has an incomparably lofty status. To demand that monks denounce him is about as practical as asking that they vilify their own parents.

It should be no surprise that beatings of monks and closings of monasteries naturally stimulate civil unrest, or that civil unrest, spawned in this way, can turn violent.

Why aren't these simple truths more obvious? Phuntsog Wanggyal, a Tibetan now retired in Beijing who for years was a leading Communist official in Tibet, has observed that a doctrine of "anti-splittism" has taken root among Chinese government officials who deal with religion and minority affairs, both in central offices in Beijing and in Tibet. Having invested their careers in anti-splittism, these people cannot admit that the idea is mistaken without losing face and, they fear, losing their own power and position as well.

Their ready-made tag for everything that goes wrong is "hostile foreign forces" -- an enemy that justifies any kind of harsh or unreasoning repression. When repeated endlessly, anti-splittism, although originally vacuous, does take on a kind of solidity. Careers are made in it, and challenging it becomes impossible.

I am a supporter of the Dalai Lama's "middle way," meaning autonomy for Tibet in all matters except foreign affairs and national defense. This arrangement eventually would have to mean that Tibetan people select their own leaders -- and that would be a major change from the way things are now. Tibet is called an "autonomous region," but in fact its officials are all named by Beijing, and are all tightly focused on their own personal interests and the interests of the Communist Party. Tibetans can clearly see the difference between this kind of government and self-rule, and there is no way that they will support bogus autonomy.

It follows -- even if this is a tall order -- that the ultimate solution to the Tibet problem must be democratization of the Chinese political system itself. True autonomy cannot come any other way.

It is time for the Chinese government to take stock of why its long-term strategy in Tibet has not worked, and to try something else. The old problems remain, and they are sure to continue, perhaps in places like the "Uighur Autonomous Region" of Xinjiang, if a more sensible approach is not attempted.

Mr. Wang, a Beijing-based writer, was the organizer of the recent 12-point statement on Tibet by 30 Chinese intellectuals. This article was translated from the Chinese by Princeton University Prof. Perry Link."

xiaoxui SG

China is like a 'big bad bully' bullying a small boy (Tibet). Her cultural genocide on Tibet and her unscrupulous accusation of the Dalai Lama is just unbearable. She should stop her wicked act of violence on Tibet that has brought great sufferings to the Tibetians for decades. If She only has a slight understanding of morality, she should have leave Tibet in peace and not attacking on her. she said wanted a peace talk but do nothing about it.The act of violence is evil and putting the blames on others and deceiving the truth is an unscrupulous act. Leave Tibets and the her culture alone. Leave Tibets to rule by herself.

Uncle Ver SG SG

Good thing is there is no more rioting etc. Hopefully the Tibetian monks are not subject to torture etc. The people who incited the riots should be subject to the rule of law and brought before the courts to determine their guilt.

Alucard101 SG

the point u mentioned the country, when Tibet has never been an internationally recognized country historically? Shame on you even Marco Polo, the 1^st westerner went to China has duly mentioned Tibet, apparently because it belonged to part of Yuan Dynast territory where he was visiting. That’s some 1000 years ago, much longer than some modern western countries’ histories combined.

OH shame on me?i wud reconsider tht if i were u.

So as per ur assumption since u follow Marco Polo,Singapore is Malaysia?

What killing? Under Dalai’s slavery SERF SYSTEM, Tibetans’ population never grew too much, yet after 1959, the population now is doubled to 2.6 million from 1.2 million under the Serf system. The number speaks itself, what genocide? When infant mortality in you favored Slavery Tibet is 460 per 1000, now is under 35 per 1000.

And I am assuming that you went to count it by urself?????Or your chinese govt friends did the calculation for you????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acHkXqik_Bo

Yawning slogan and fabricating killing number do not make your CIA supported “Gov in-exile” any legal/moral high ground. Less than a quarter million Tibet offspring holding various foreign passports do not represent the Tibet with near 3 million people which is always under Chinese territory over thousands years.

I am not a big fan of CIA either.if that's the case why does Tibeteans want to be free from China?So u still say that 'Tibet under china' and not a chinese provice.

"The population transfer of Chinese into Tibet, which the government in Peking pursues in order to force a "final solution" to the Tibetan problem by reducing the Tibetan population to an insignificant and disenfranchised minority in Tibet itself, must be stopped.

The massive transfer of Chinese civilians into Tibet in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) threatens the very existence of the Tibetans as a distinct people. In the eastern parts of our country, the Chinese now greatly outnumber Tibetans. In the Amdo province, for example, where I was born, there are, according to Chinese statistics, 2.5 million Chinese and only 750,000 Tibetans. Even in so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (i.e., central and western Tibet), Chinese government sources now confirm that Chinese outnumber Tibetans.

The Chinese population transfer policy is not new. It has been systematically applied to other areas before. Earlier in this century, the Manchus were a distinct race with their own culture and traditions. Today only two to three million Manchurians are left in Manchuria, where 75 million Chinese have settled. In Eastern Turkestan, which the Chinese now call Sinkiang, the Chinese population has grown from 200,000 in 1949 to 7 million, more than half of the total population of 13 million. In the wake of the Chinese colonization of Inner Mongolia, Chinese number 8.5 million, Mongols 2.5 million.

Today, in the whole of Tibet 7.5 million Chinese settlers have already been sent, outnumbering the Tibetan population of 6 million. In central and western Tibet, now referred to by the Chinese as the "Tibet Autonomous Region", Chinese sources admit the 1.9 million Tibetans already constitute a minority of the region's population. These numbers do not take the estimated 300,000 - 500,000 troops in Tibet into account - 250,000 of them in the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region. " from

http://www.tibet.com/Proposal/5point.html

And since u are a fan boy of youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxIhqx4xN5w

sgdiehard SG

I woudn't be surprised if you were a stauch chinese supporter.

Are tibetan streets known to have wild and vicious animals looming around waiting to kill?

What wud u do if one day u were run over by one country and they were killing off ur race?Would u welcome them with flowers when you they are there?

Consider Tibet a place with great religious significance, your question is blesphemous.

That's a no brainer.So what explains the calculated eradication of tibetians and filling it with chinese?

Friends of Tibet

http://media.www.iowastatedaily.com/media/storage/paper818/news/1995/10/27/UndefinedSection/Atrocities.In.Tibet-1068082.shtml

http://www.davekopel.com/env/entibet.htm

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/297127/the_geological_effect_of_chinese_invasion_of_tibet/

Has the Chinese government killed the Tibetan race? Such kind of unfounded accusations is very dangerous. I don’t know how old are you and how you get this kind of extremist mindset.

Let me tell you what the Caucasians did to the Native Americans. When Columbus arrived in the north American continent, the population of native Americans was estimated at 54 millions, today, there are only about 2 millions Native Indians in America. That is more than what you said “killing off ur race”!!

Today Tibetan population has increased, besides the 2.4 millions living in Tibet, there are another 2.6 millions ethnic Tibetans now in all part of China, in Gansu, Yunna, Qinghai, Sichuan, living peacefully among the Han majority. Talk about culture aggression and reservation? Starbuck was allowed in the Forbidden City but never in the Jokhang temple. Many native Indians languages disappeared from America, but Tibetan language remains in Tibet. No native Indians religion exists now in America, but hundreds of Buddhist monasteries remain the attraction of Buddhists all over the world. Potola Palace remains the icon of Tibet, it houses a thousand shrines.

Tibetan is now opened even more to the outside world with the railway link. Don’t tell me this is to facilitate the “eradication of Tibetans”.

Don’t give me that b ull s hit that the American genocide against the Indian does not give Chinese the right to rule over Tibet. What the Americans did were racial depopulation and cultural eradication. What the Chinese did in Tibet is far far from that. That’s a no brainer.

I am surprised the Chinese police still don’t equip themselves with rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas. I don’t totally approve of the way they handle the news. I am disappointed at the way Hu pointing finger at Dalai in exile. I am impressed with Dalai in exile for calling for restrains and reiterating his support for the Olympics. That doesn’t mean I support the PRC nor support an independent Tibet. As for the western media, I would be surprised if they report something that is neural.

sgdiehard SG

And I am assuming that you went to count it by urself?????Or your friends did the calculation for you????

Sg2008 SG

OH shame on me?i wud reconsider tht if i were u.

So as per ur assumption since u follow Marco Polo,Singapore is Malaysia?

And I am assuming that you went to count it by urself?????Or your chinese govt friends did the calculation for you????

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acHkXqik_Bo

I am not a big fan of CIA either.if that's the case why does Tibeteans want to be free from China?So u still say that 'Tibet under china' and not a chinese provice.

http://www.tibet.com/Proposal/5point.html

And since u are a fan boy of youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxIhqx4xN5w

OH shame on me?i wud reconsider tht if i were u.

So as per ur assumption since u follow Marco Polo,Singapore is Malaysia?

Shame on somebody that persistently ignoring the history and reality, so it’s u or me the rest ppl can make their conscious unbiased judgment.

I no need follow Marco Polo as his travel to China is well documented and widely circulated allover the world.

Yes, Singapore used to be part of Malaya that’s an undeniable fact only shameless/ignorant guy here that everybody already have seen doesn’t know this plaint fact, just like he consistently calls Tibet a country although it never be such sovereign one.

And I am assuming that you went to count it by urself?????Or your chinese govt friends did the calculation for you????

Shame on sbd x2, who is only counting the population by urself?! I no need count by myself, I can count on UN’s figure what actually is more reliable than your fabricated “FACTS” that u fraction so used to it and western media just so casual to pick the junk “facts” produced by u because something to launch the usual attack on Chinese is all what they need.

http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/population/database/chinadata/tibet.htm#pop

At the end of 2000, the total population in Tibet was 2.62 million. With diversity in terms of distribution, most people live in rural areas, and fewer in cities and towns. The population of the Tibetan nationality accounts for over 90% of the population, but that of the Han nationality and other ethnic groups is very small. Affected by nature, geographic conditions and climate, 80% of the population in Tibet is distributed mainly over the valley along the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River valley and the deep valleys along three rivers (Lantsang River, Lujang River and Yangtse River) which are located in the eastern part of Tibet. There are few people in the northern part of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau because of its harsh climate. The southeastern part of Tibet is covered by primeval forests; there population density is low, transportation is inadequate and other conditions unfavorable. In 2000, the population density of Tibet was only 2.1 persons per square kilometer.

I am not a big fan of CIA either.if that's the case why does Tibeteans want to be free from China?So u still say that 'Tibet under china' and not a chinese provice.

U r fundamentally wrong as something against Chinese then u so conveniently read as “ Tibetans want to be free from China” ?? Anti-chinese riots are not uncommon these days. We saw them in Indonesia/South Pacific states/ Africa etc. using ur logic, do all those riots are those nations “want to be freed from China “?? More because of nowadays Chinese domination in business that make the locals uncomfortable, far from ur ideology, dude. Tell me why Tibetan rioters attack Muslim in Lhasa as well? Do the Muslims got anything to do with ur ideology? No, simply because Muslims in Lhasa also dominate some business alongside Han Chinese.

Get some basic straight then start yawning which demonstrated it’s easiest part of job to be done.

MobyDog SG

Ya and the chinese govt tells the truth always and has never killed any tibetean.

Who the hell asked the chinese to go to tibetean streets to get killed?

And I am betting tht all of u forgot to remember when the chinese shot at monks who went to india and tianmen square and all other times kept under covers.

I thought about 2/3 of tibetan have migrated to neighbouring Chinese province. Should the Chinese start burning Tibetan homes and business, and attack ethnic tibetan.. I mean what are they doing in Chinese Streets en mass.

« Previous Page