Even as I am typing, I have serious doubt that I would be able to change the views of certain posters here, not because I do not have facts to substantiate mine, but because they already had their minds made, and refused to accept (or even check into) anything to the contrary. I certainly hope I am wrong on this (their prejudices), and perhaps one day they might be willing to open up their minds to see the other side of the story.
Propaganda aside, it was not the Chinese who made up groundless stories this time. Last time I checked (three days ago), Xinhua reported 18 civilian deaths in the riot, mostly ethnic Han Chinese and Hui (Muslim) Chinese, and one Tibetan girl caught in fire with her Han Chinese friends. Most of the deceased have been identified and their causes of death substantiated. Meanwhile, Tibetan government-in-exile reported over a hundred "alleged" Tibetan deaths, with the source being "unconfirmed reports". Guess what got the headlines here? You may laugh at Syria that they condemned the looting, arson, beating and murder of innocent civilians by the "peaceful protesters" portrayed by some of the western media, but at least the Syrians did the right thing in denouncing these criminal acts and the blatant violation of human rights that the free world hold so dearly. I remember the day when 911 took place, China was among one of the first to condemn the terrorists and to offer its condolence. Have you seen any condemnation this time by the countries that always stand on the high moral grounds? I do not know what kind of message the west was trying to send out this time.
In response to Libertarians statement that The Chinese on the other hand did in fact respond very heavy-handedly to the preotests as we all know they would., I would just point out that the alleged firing by the Chinese army into the protesters (during the Lhasa riot) has never been backed by a single picture or video clip. On the contrary, the blogs, pictures and videos that were posted by foreign tourists recently to recount the events that unfolded before their eyes on March 14th when the riot was at its worst showed remarkable restraint by the Chinese riot police. See, for example,
TheStar.com | News | 'I can't just let this guy die on the ground' and
TheStar.com | World | Canadians caught in Tibet's violence
If you had bothered to actually read some of the stories or watched the videos on the link Martin has posted, you would have already seen them with your own eyes. Aside from the Guardians report on that website, there are reports by other journalists who were actually in Lhasa when the riot broke out:
A week in Tibet | Trashing the Beijing Road | Economist.com
Transcript: James Miles interview on Tibet - CNN.com
FYI, on a later date, shots have been fired in Aba, Sichuan, a neighbouring province to Tibet, when the rioters started to assault the police and attempted to take guns away from them. This event was reported by the Xinhua News Agency promptly.
In response to his statement of I am curious to know if they used those Nepal pictures because they were not alowed into Tibet to get footage, so they told the story with different pictures. I dunno, but it seems odd that they would have to do that b/c China responded very harshly ,and they wouldn`t have to make that up. I would like to remind him that some of the misinterpreted pictures and deliberately distorted reports by some western media were around well before the Chinese government ordered (or advised depending on who you believed, I believed in "ordered") the foreign reporters to leave Tibet. In fact, Mr. James Miles from the Economist remained in Lhasa until March 19th when his permit to stay in Tibet expired, and some other foreign reporters stayed as late as March 20th (I can give you the link if you so desired). Now, even if they indeed had no access to Lhasa, it still did not give them the right to fabricate stories and manipulate pictures to tell what they all knew they (Chinese government) would (do). Selective reporting (biased journalism) is bad, but I personally think the worst thing a journalist can do is to fabricate stories. I was glad to see that both RTL and N-TV in Germany recently apologized for their erring while reporting the Tibet riot. While it may be too little (a foot note compared to the "breaking news") too late (when people's interests have waned and when they stopped paying attentions), still, it is better late than never. To the best of my knowledge, however, none of the major American news outlets has acknowledged let alone apologized for their mistakes, whether they were unintentional or deliberate. I am not sure if this bodes well for their credibility.
As for satv365s groundless comments on the imminent Chinese invasion and alleged Imperialism, I would suggest him to read some history books before he opens his mouth again.
Now back to the issue of Tibet. Admittedly, my own knowledge of Tibet is limited, but my humble opinion is that the Tibet problem is complicated and certainly cannot be solved by displaying Free Tibet bumper stickers or shouting Tibet Independence during a concert held in Shanghai (thats for you, Bjork). It would require great wisdoms from both the Chinese and the Tibetan parties, and certainly any positive role the international community could play would help the course as well. A brighter future would not be possible if we do not seek to understand the past and the present. Unfortunately, many internet forums were overrun by people with strong opinions but little knowledge. It may come as a shock to some of the posters here, but a mind that is determined to seek the truth will always find a way. Perhaps you know the concept of proxy server, or that scholars books existed long before the internet. Most of my Chinese friends obtained their information from sources other than China Daily. To Martin, if you understand the Chinese language, you might want to check out:
www.creaders.com
ѧ www.wenxuecity.com
where you can find stories from all sides, including those in favor of the Tibetan independence. Surprisingly, a lot of brainwashed Chinese friends of mine know a whole lot more about Tibet than me and many of my American friends, perhaps because the Tibet problem is of central interest to Chinese or maybe because many Americans got their information from Hollywood movies and in this case, biased media. Unfortunately, they dont usually come here, as they prefer to discuss on Chinese forums.
I, personally, have read plenty of Chinese articles but only a handful of English ones on the subject of Tibet. I would be happy to discuss and share my views on Tibet with anyone here. However, if you have never read the book "The Snow Lion and Dragon" by Prof. Melvyn Goldstein at Case Western Reserve University, I would strongly recommend that you read it. You can find it online free of charge at the following link:
The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama
Prof. Goldstein is widely considered as an expert in Tibetan history, and he speaks and reads the Tibetan language. The book was the result of over 12 years of research by him, including more than two full years of residency there. I would certainly value his opinions much higher than those by BBC, CNN, FOX news reporters, particularly after I learned of all the manipulations they have done to support their personal views. Some of the other articles I have read or am reading now that you may find interesting include the "Friendly Feudalism -The Tibet Myth" by Prof. Michael Parenti at Yale:
Friendly Fuedalism - The Tibet Myth
and The Shadow of the Dalai Lama by Victor and Victoria Trimondi who were once Dalai Lamas avid followers:
The Shadow of the Dalai Lama Contents
A brief summary of their views can be found on the following website:
Tibetan Dalai Lama - Not What You Think In Pursuit of Happiness
I would also like to comment on the coverages of the latest Tibet riots by the western media, and the possible consequences. While many stayed to the truth and remained objective, some went out of their ways to twist the facts and fabricate stories. This, in my eyes, not only is dishonorable, but also will backfire at them in the future. After all, how do you think the official Chinese news agencies lost their credibility? If the wests goal is truly to see the peaceful resolution of the Tibet problem, they were sending some very wrong messages to the two main parties involved. The lack of condemnation of the violence and the universal urge for Chinese governments restraint would certainly be viewed as an international approval if not an encouragement by the radical elements of the Tibetan government-in-exile to deviate further from the peaceful movement that Dalai Lama himself has been preached over the last two decades. This could only deteriorate the situation. On the other hand, with the Chinese government showing a lot more restraint this time while still garnering little international support, the hardliners within the CCP may prevail again, and I wouldnt think thats what the world would like to see. Lastly, as you might have imagined, the media gate was one of the hottest stories in Chinese communities, both abroad and at home. From what I read on various Chinese internet forums, the western media were quickly losing their credibility among normal Chinese people. If they are counting on the people to eventually pushing the government to move towards democracy, I think they just took a huge step backwards.
The Chinese government just restarted issuing permits to western reporters to enter Tibet, and lifted the ban on several websites, including youtube.com. It is a step forward in the right direction, and I think its about time for the west and the Chinese (both the government and the people) to rebuild the long lost mutual trust.
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