So much with the Tibetans' peacefullness
Mar. 15th, 2008 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mahnmutChina is accusing rioters in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa of killing at least 10 people in violent protests Friday. The demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet were the worst there in nearly two decades. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing.
There is no question there was violence. The issue is what exactly happened?
"The Tibetans are a very peaceful people" (Richard Gere) - Yyyup. No kidding.
Oh, and it initially looked like a very well orchestrated (and well-timed) riot (from outside). But the way it degraded into burnt cars and shops and stabbed people gave all excuses to the Chinese authorities to justify its quick suppression of the event. Tibet's "freedom" and independence doesn't look likely to happen any time soon.
Question is, how far will the "international community" go in this boycott of the Olympics, and how much would each country want to spoil their relations with China. As for the US, the answer is clear: it'll all remain just in words. The trade with China is too important to be scrapped just like that. But it never hurts to beat yourself in the chest a little bit, claiming to be defending "human rights" around the world (while actually violating them on a global scale).
By the way, did you know that the Tibetan society was one of the most backward conservative theocratic patriarchal societies of the 20th century, before it was overrun by the "damn atheistic Chinese commies"? Who knows what an utopian feudal country could've emerged there when/if it became a separate country - had it not had the bad luck of being right under the nose of a mighty country like China. A Tibet on the Balkans would've been a completely different story...
There is no question there was violence. The issue is what exactly happened?
"The Tibetans are a very peaceful people" (Richard Gere) - Yyyup. No kidding.
Oh, and it initially looked like a very well orchestrated (and well-timed) riot (from outside). But the way it degraded into burnt cars and shops and stabbed people gave all excuses to the Chinese authorities to justify its quick suppression of the event. Tibet's "freedom" and independence doesn't look likely to happen any time soon.
Question is, how far will the "international community" go in this boycott of the Olympics, and how much would each country want to spoil their relations with China. As for the US, the answer is clear: it'll all remain just in words. The trade with China is too important to be scrapped just like that. But it never hurts to beat yourself in the chest a little bit, claiming to be defending "human rights" around the world (while actually violating them on a global scale).
By the way, did you know that the Tibetan society was one of the most backward conservative theocratic patriarchal societies of the 20th century, before it was overrun by the "damn atheistic Chinese commies"? Who knows what an utopian feudal country could've emerged there when/if it became a separate country - had it not had the bad luck of being right under the nose of a mighty country like China. A Tibet on the Balkans would've been a completely different story...
