Foreigners criticize Western misconception
Updated: 2008-04-16 07:27
Jean-Paul Desimpelaere
Europe-China Association president
The Dalai Lama and his followers have been making their seemingly innocent talk of "a genuine autonomy" for Tibet, but what they really want is independence for a large tract of land.
The Dalai Lama's rhetoric is quite deceptive and people unfamiliar with Tibet history could fall into his trap.
When you look closely at what the Dalai Lama means by "genuine autonomy," you find that it goes very far. He wants the Chinese army to be withdrawn completely from a region bigger than twice the current size of Tibet (which is about a quarter of China's territory). This is what he calls "Greater Tibet" or "my country".
You should know that the Dalai Lama has never reigned in this "Greater Tibet" territory, and that the Tibetans have never been a majority in the population there.
Then the Dalai Lama wants to "expel the Han" - in the millions - from this region. He also wants a "constitution" for the region, based on Buddhism.
All of these have nothing to do with "autonomy within a country". That is a call for outright separation of a big chunk of territory from China.
Now, consider the facts on the ground.
Tibet is one of the regions in the world where religious practice flourishes. There is one religious establishment for every 1,500 people. I visited more than 100 Tibetan monasteries and witnessed many rituals and prayers. People do not need to hide their religious beliefs, and the streets are full of pilgrims to the major monasteries and monks are seen everywhere.
Tibet is an autonomous region of China, whose economy and finances are autonomous. Over the past two decades, the central government has invested a lot in the development of Tibet. It footed much of the bills for major projects of infrastructure, energy, telecommunications, education, and culture.
Jerry R. Mitchell
CEO of Asian Business Company
My displeasure with the (Western) media coverage of the Tibet situation is growing daily.
How many people who are writing even know the history of Tibet? How many of them know that Tibet has been a part of China for centuries?
Even the media does nothing to inform the readers that this is not a case of China attacking its neighbors but its internal matter. Why isn't the news media reporting the burning of property by these so-called Tibetan peaceful protestors or the beating of citizens by them?
I also do not understand the media coverage of the protests in front of the Chinese consulate in Chicago that blacks out images of the "peaceful" protestors throwing items through the windows of the consulate.
If this was an American Consulate in another country what would our media response have been? For many years I have been taught that an attack on an American Consulate was the same as an attack on America.
The Chinese Consulate in Chicago is showing the rest of us how to respond intelligently and with restraint when conflicts occur.
How is it that we not condemn the vicious attacks on the world's symbol of peace, the Olympic torch?
Instead of supporting the torch and the people carrying it, we condemn the people trying to protect both the proud carriers of the torch and the torch itself...What message does America send out to the rest of the world when people take to the streets attacking the very symbol of world peace?
Andrey Ostrovsky
Deputy director of the Far East Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Western allegations of China's "cultural genocide" in Tibet are groundless.
The Tibetan culture, one of the most prominent cultural heritages in the world, is preserved well, while cultural and religious life there is free and vibrant .
In 2007, I went to Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, and to another major city.
Having seen life in Tibet, I know that some Western nations' accusations regarding China's suppression of Tibetan culture and religion are ill-founded.
Tibetan elements and styles can be seen on almost all newly built houses in Lhasa and elsewhere on the Himalayan plateau.
There are no restrictions on Tibetans studying their own language and culture, and the Chinese central government is making every effort to foster education in both Tibetan and Chinese languages in the region.
As to the alleged damage caused by Qinghai-Tibet Railway to Tibetan culture, I wonder if there is any logic in such allegations.
Throughout history, transportation has facilitated development. It impressed me most that the Chinese could successfully meet all the challenges and build a railway through such a difficult terrain.
I condemn the violent disruptions of the Olympic torch relay.
The protesters' aim of sabotaging the Beijing Olympics, I am sure, is doomed to failure.
L. Ling-chi Wang
Professor emeritus of Asian American & Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley
As the Olympic torch makes its way westward through London, Paris and San Francisco on its way to Beijing, it has been attracting well-financed, organized protests representing various single-issue groups that normally do not even work together.
The Beijing Olympics is a godsend for these groups because it affords them the opportunity to disrupt the torch relay.
The media, as usual, have seized the opportunity to pour fuel onto the fire. Politicians are tripping over each other in their eagerness to condemn China, to call for boycotts, and to claim the high moral ground, even though the United States has been treated as a rogue state worldwide because of our invasion of Iraq, and our unlawful detention and torture of even Iraqi civilians.
Sadly, most Americans know little about international issues and for that matter, about China, as demonstrated by the conspicuous absence of information regarding historical context and complexity. Instead, the media, politicians and organized groups prefer to use only sound bites and, frequently, disinformation to perpetuate ignorance, instill fear, and incite racial hostility, or worse, hatred toward China.
What they do know is this: just about everything they use and wear daily comes from China. Even the new section of the San Francisco Bay Bridge is being made in Shanghai.
China, like many countries in the world, including the US, has problems. It has much to learn from the rest of the world. In this respect, they are not that different from us.
We are still learning how to treat minorities such as Native Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, Chinese-Americans and others as equals.
Humility and compassion, not hypocrisy and self-righteousness, are what we need.
Sava Hassan
Egyptian Canadian educator in Beijing
Some Western politicians have joined the chorus calling for a boycott of the Games and the Western media is making a fuss over it. All this points to an elaborate plot to that some Westerners are to politicize the Olympics.
The Western media is determined to deprive China of the opportunity to illustrate to the whole world that it is a peaceful nation and that it is capable of hosting an event as big as the Olympics.
They are using the events in Tibet to argue that China does not deserve the chance to host the Olympics. Obviously, they are ignorant of the fundamental fact that the events in Tibet are an internal matter of China.
One question begs itself. Why are these Westerners trying so hard to paint a dark picture of China in the minds of all people in general and their citizens in particular? Has the phenomenal development of the Chinese economy instilled in their minds an irrational fear of the growing power of China?
Going through the news that is coming from the Western media, we can see some Westerners are determined to seize any chance to undermine the remarkable achievements of China in preparing for the 2008 Olympics.
I am certain that the world will come together to take part in the major events of the 2008 Olympics, regardless of the shallow attempts by the West to use the events in Tibet to create a shadow of doubt over the possibility of its success.
Xinhua News Agency - China Daily
(China Daily 04/16/2008 page9)
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