Word: tibet
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...past few days, the government’s repressive reaction to the popular protests in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, has put China’s human rights record in the spotlight, precisely as the Olympics loom in the horizon. Seeking to control public perception, the Chinese regime has tried to minimize international exposure to the issue. Yet tanks and soldiers will not go unnoticed forever. Tibetans’ demands for autonomy are reasonable, and it is only a matter of time before even the mighty Chinese government has to give...
...hardly a new phenomenon. In fact, they started during the anniversary of a failed rebellion on March 10th, 1959. Ten years before that, and just months after securing control of continental China after a long civil war, the aptly named Maoist People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet. The New York Times and other international media outlets covered the desperate radio broadcasts of a “shocked” Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and political leader, in the wake of invasion. Yet Mao got away with it, much like Stalin had gotten away with...
...With their main opponent gone, the Chinese followed the Stalinist puppet state model: They installed a loyal, ethnic Tibetan in charge of the administration and a Han Chinese in the powerful position of secretary of the regional Communist Party. The Chinese constitution technically allows for a “Tibet Autonomous Region,” but Lhasa’s policy decisions are made in Beijing. Slowly but surely, China has asserted absolute power in the last forty years through economic investments, political control, and Han migration, seeking to silence Tibetans forever...
...oddly accused the Tibetans of “reactionary separatism” and of trying to ruin the Olympics, and cut off access to the region, where The Economist was the only foreign media outlet with a correspondent. Silence and government-sponsored news are all we can get from Tibet, so the extent of the repression is left to the imagination...
...Dalai Lama has been smart enough to acknowledge China’s power; he repeatedly calls for coexistence of Han Chinese and Tibetans, respect for the upcoming Olympics, and true autonomy for Tibet through non-violence. He wants precisely what Hong Kong has. After all, Tibet has a distinct history, ethnic identity, and, quite importantly, a very strong religious tradition that differentiates it from China. If there is a case for Western-styled self-determination, this...