Word: tibet
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...hardening attitudes on both sides mean there is no relief ahead for the Tibetan people. "I think violence is inevitable," says Lobsang Sangay, a senior fellow at Harvard Law's East Asian Legal Studies program who focuses on human rights in Tibet. So it's imperative for both sides to do their utmost to clear the logjam that has blocked progress since the Dalai Lama was forced to flee Lhasa nearly 50 years ago. On the Chinese side, there's little doubt that some officials realize their strategy of oppression at home and stonewalling overseas will one day backfire...
There is a hidden motive behind the technology and development that the Chinese government has brought to Tibet. Because of the television tower, the Tibetans cannot rebuild the shrine that used to stand atop the Iron Mountain. Because of the Chinese flags on top of their roofs, Tibetans can no longer decorate their homes and schools with prayer flags—one of the most important traditions of Tibetan life. Television and new homes are in themselves beneficial to the Tibetans, but the Chinese have used them to inhibit traditional Tibetan practices and make Chinese culture more visible...
...While slowly creating a cultural void in Tibet, the Chinese government has also laid the groundwork for filling it. Thousands of kilometers of railway have been built connecting Lhasa to many major Chinese cities: The express train from Beijing was completed in 2006, and luxury cars will be running in 2009. Having erased Tibetan culture, China will pump...
...only can the Chinese get to Tibet fast, they have good reason to do so. Tibet is a fresh market for China’s rapidly growing economy, and its relative lack of indigenous capital makes it an easy target for predatory Chinese corporations. If that weren’t incentive enough, rampant housing discrimination makes Tibet a nice prospect for any Chinese entrepreneur. Most of the new subsidized housing—which the Chinese government made room for by razing thousands of Tibetan monuments—are given to new “Chinese settlers” to provide...
...cannot continue to ignore Tibet, nor can we continue to balk when human rights are in danger. The UN, NATO, the United States—any organization or nation with significant international sway—need to put pressure on the Chinese government to cease its suppression of the Tibetan people. The world learned the terrible consequences of imperialism long ago, and we must stamp it out entirely wherever it rears its ugly head. Tibet and its people are some of the world’s most beautiful remaining examples of piety, brotherhood, and peacefulness. But, if we wait much...