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[edit] Had 1.2 million Tibetans been massacred under Communist rule?
This is a much publicised myth.
Tibet had only about 1mn people in the TAR (or 2+mn if Tibetans from nearby provinces were included as well) back in the 50’s. The natural population growth rate of the US has been around 1% per annum. If Tibet had indeed suffered such a drastic population loss, how is it possible to have 3mn+ Tibetans (or 6mn for all Tibetan nationwide) now?
Patrick French, who had campaigned for the Tibetan cause for 20 years and was the head of Free Tibet Campaign in London, was given access to the original documents that purported to support this massacre claim. Unfortunately he found them full of holes and came away with “the unwelcome conclusion that this survey was a statistically useless attempt to satisfy Western demands for data and tabulation” so that the Government in Exile could drum up western sympathy and support. [Tibet, Tibet, 2003]
French had subsequently resigned from Free Tibet Campaign.
[edit] Was there a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters in Lhasa?
It was NOT a crackdown, but merely an act to bring back law and order after deadly riot broke out.
The protests were initially peaceful and left alone. However when it turned ugly on March 14, 2008, and 20+ innocent civilians had already died at the hands of rioters, what is the magical number of deaths to make police presence legitimate? 50, 100, 300? By booting out all journalists, the government made a major PR blunder and people naturally assume the worst. But all eyewitness accounts from independent travelers and the lone western journalist in Lhasa during the riots corroborate with government reports. It is the government’s responsibility to maintain law and order, just like in Los Angeles or Paris.
Eyewitnesses Recount Terrifying Day in Tibet from the Washington Post
CNN’s interview of James Miles, from the Economist, and the only foreign journalist in Lhasa during the riots
Footage of protesters attacking Chinese Town from Canadian Television.
Footages of rioting in Lhasa, from independent travelers and CCTV.
[edit] Are Tibetans being oppressed?
No, this is not true.
Tibetan families are permitted to have up to three children, whereby the Hans are limited to one. Tibetan families in Tibet average 3.8 children, larger than Tibetan families in India. There are also many other types of affirmative actions on education and health care. There’s definitely room for further improvement, though the living standard of the average Tibetan has improved greatly over the last few decades. Their average lifespan has increased from 35 in 1950 to 68 in 2000 due to higher living standard and better access to medical services, and infant mortality has dropped from 43% to 0.661% during the same period.
As a comparison, the lifespan of Lakota men in the US averages less than 44 years.
[edit] Do Tibetans enjoy religious freedom?
Barry Sautman, a leading scholar on Tibet, argued that religious institutions are being regulated mostly to avoid them being used as vehicles of separatism. Sautman said that there is now 1 monk or nun for every 35 Tibetans, “the highest of any Buddhist country in the world, and much higher than the relation of ministers and priests to parishioners in any Christian country in the world, where the ratio is often 1 to 1,000.” And unlike in Christian countries, these clergies are paid by public money and heavily subsidized by tax revenue from China proper.
Dalai Lama and the Persecution of Dorje Shugden
The Dalai Lama’s government in exile, while complaining loudly about modern Tibet’s lack of religious freedom, has banned the worship of Dorje Shugden.
Dalai Lama & Dorje Shugden, in 3 parts, by the Swiss Public Television
[edit] Why do thousands of refugees risk their lives to get to India each year?
Most people crossed the boarder to seek better education in English, as well as to receive a blessing from the DL. Over 60% of these are under 25 years old and thousands return to Tibet each year. Therefore, it’s more appropriate to call these pilgrims instead. But of course it is to the benefit of the exile government that these visitors remain “refugees”.
[edit] Does Tibet suffer from cultural genocide?
This is such a vague term that can be tossed around casually. But when you modernize a place, obviously some of the older cultural or religious practices fall by the wayside. Culture is a living, breathing thing, and Tibet is not a museum. One popular accusation is that Tibetans are forced to study Chinese in schools. This is complete falsehood.
there is a two-track school system in Tibet, with one track using standard Chinese and the other teaching in the Tibetan language. Students can choose which system to attend.
Testimonies from the US State Department
Anyone who’s been to Tibet can testify how rarely do Tibetans speak Mandarin Chinese. In fact, this lack of language skill has now handicapped them in the job market. The exile govt. adopted English as the main language of instruction in their school system in Dharmasala, India. Are they guilty of cultural genocide then, for teaching everything in English? If there is a cultural genocide going on, it’s more likely a result of globalization rather than anything else.
At war with the utopia of modernity
[edit] If people are not being oppressed, why did they riot?
The uprising did not have broad-based support. The highest media estimate of Tibetans who participated in protests is 20,000 -- by Steve Chao, the Beijing Bureau Chief of Canadian Television News, i.e. one of every 300 Tibetans. Compare that to the 1986 protests against the Marcos dictatorship by about three million, one out of every 19 Filipinos.
The fact that Hui Muslims, who are also minorities, were targeted (stores razed and a mosque was set on fire) in the riots indicated that the root cause was more likely to be economic competition. Tibetans have legitimate grievances about not having enough help in competition for jobs and in business with the Han or Hui migrants. Market forces have also exacerbated income and wealth differentials, and rampant corruption.
What They're Really Fighting for in Tibet
China's Tibetan frontiers rekindle tradition of defiance
[edit] If it’s all about money, why now?
The rioting took place this year because the Olympics make it opportune for separatists to advance their agenda. The heated competition between China and the US in recent years is also a driving factor. Major pro-Tibet lobby like International Campaign for Tibet, Tibet Fund, Tibet Information Network etc. are all funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), basically the civilian arm of the CIA. http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=6530
The CIA had had a long history of covert operation in Tibet. The Dalai Lama himself was on the CIA’s payroll from the late 1950s until 1974, reportedly receiving US$15,000 a month (US$180,000 a year).
Dalai Lama Group Says It Got Money From C.I.A., from the New York Times
The Role of the CIA: Behind the Dalai Lama’s Holy Cloak
The CIA in TIBET 1
[edit] The Dalai Lama is all for non-violence!
Well, this is what he advocates in public. But the following is his spokesman Dawa Tsering’s definition of non-violence (interviewed by Radio France International on 04/02/2008 )
I have to declare that Tibetans never took any violent actions during the whole event. We saw Tibetans beat Han Chinese in videos, but those were just beating. The Han Chinese could run away after beating. That’s just beating, not hurt to lives. For those who killed (by Tibetans) were because of accidents, they went upstairs and hide when Tibetans smashed the doors. They stayed hidden when Tibetans set the fire. They were accidentally burnt to death. So these were just accidents, not slaughters.
He supported the war in Iraq at the get-go. Dalai Lama Says Terror May Need a Violent Reply
He calls for nuclear disarmament, but came out in support of India after its nuclear tests. Don't flay India on N-tests, says Dalai Lama
[edit] Does the Dalai Lama support the Olympics?
The DL has voiced his support for the Games in public. Yet the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, said on April 12 that protests against the Olympic torch relay was justified as the Tibetans were not allowed to live a free life under the present Chinese government.
[edit] Is it autonomy that the Dalai Lama demands?
The demand for autonomy sounds very reasonable, given the unique history and culture of the Tibetan people. But the devil’s in the detail.
The constitution of the DL’s government: "Whereas His Holiness the Dalai lama has offered a democratic system to Tibetans...Whereas efforts shall be made to transform a future Tibet into a Federal Democratic Self-Governing Republic..." Somehow this sounds more like independence than autonomy…
In addition to Tibet proper, he also demands areas that have been under direct control from Beijing for centuries. All in all, this amounts to ¼ of China’s territories. Details of the DL's proposal
The demand for "autonomy" in not limited to just education, religion, culture, commerce, taxation, and the environment, the DL has now declared the intention to control his own defense and foreign policies as well! Reasonable Demands From The Dalai Lama
If these demands are used as standards, one can easily argues that India or the US is also part of China. They just happen to enjoy "genuine autonomy".
Ethnic Cleansing
What’s more, the exiles want the entire “Greater Tibet” to be cleansed of non-Tibetans. In 1997, The "prime minister" of the exiles had told the German media on his views of the future of non-Tibetans, including new immigrants and those who had lived in Tibetan areas for centuries. In the case of a successful secession, they will have to "return to China, or if they would like to remain, be treated as foreigners." He explained the planned measures: "they will, in any case, not be allowed to participate in the political life."
[edit] You have been completely brainwashed. You government is pure evil and the DL is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate!
This "peace-loving" lama is a former slave-owner who had waged a bloody guerrilla war, funded by the CIA, against China during the Cold War. And ad hominem attacks are so lame.
The raw truth is that the enemy of my enemy is NOT necessarily my friend. Besides being a religious leader, the DL is first and foremost a politician. And ALL politicians lie. Some less than others, but they all do.
[edit] Commies sell junks to us! Take our jobs away! Own our debts! They are polluters! Free Tibet! Free China!
Hmm…is this truly about human rights? Or is it because racism is not very popular these days, so people need another excuse?
[edit] Was Tibet ever an independent country?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/19/opinion/l19china.html?scp=1&sq=Goldstein+tibet&st=nyt
To the Editor:
Re “Don’t Know Much About Tibetan History,” by Elliot Sperling (Op-Ed, April 13):
As Mr. Sperling notes, Tibet became (de facto) independent in 1911 after the Manchu dynasty fell. But this independence was never accepted by either the Chinese governments that succeeded the Manchu or by Britain, India and the United States, the democracies with whom Tibet had the closest ties.
For political and economic self-interest, these democracies instead continued to accept Chinese suzerainty over Tibet. Consequently, when Mao Zedong sent his army to incorporate Tibet into the People’s Republic of China in 1950, Britain, India and the United States not only did not assist Tibet, but also blocked Tibet’s appeal for help to the United Nations.
Similarly, in 1959, when the Dalai Lama fled to exile in India after a failed revolt and declared Tibetan independence, Britain, India and the United States again continued to accept Tibet as part of China.
Understanding Tibetan history requires an understanding of the key role that the United States and other democratic nations played in molding both sides’ views and influencing their decisions.
Melvyn C. Goldstein
Cleveland, April 14, 2008
Tibet_FAQ_by_Peter_Kauffner_&_Nima_Dorjee
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