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University community reacts to Tibet-China controversy
Published: Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
As protests around the world surrounding the Olympic torch relay last week drew international attention to the recent violent escalation in the conflict between Tibet and China, Princetonians find themselves considering how international scrutiny of China will affect the conflict ...(back to the article)
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For those of you interested in a more nuanced picture of the Tibet issue:
Economist “Fire on the roof of the world.”
Reporting by James Miles, only accredited Western journalist in Tibet at the time
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystor...
CNN “Transcript: James Miles interview on Tibet.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/03/20...
The Atlantic. “Tibet Through Chinese Eyes.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99feb/tibet.htm
New York Times. “Calling China.”
Nicholas Kristof asks Chinese readers to give their perspectives on Tibet
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/cal...
Joshua Cooper Ramo. “Brand China: China’s Image Emergency.” Foreign Policy Centre. February 2007.
http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/827.pdf
And for those of you who can read Chinese
為西藏問題尋找最大公約數----期待民族的和解
http://www.inmediahk.net/public/article?item_id...
No Chinese student is going to criticize the Chinese government, which remains a communist dictatorship if people have not forgotten. They would only endanger themselves and their families. Need we forget that Tibet was independent until the Chinese government sent armed forces to take over the country? The Dalai Lama would be under house arrest without trial if he had remained in Tibet, or murdered. Remember that China kidnapped the 2nd ranking leader in Tibetan Buddhism when he was 6, still remains under armed guard if he is not deadIs this something ppl want to mention at all?
The truth is that the growing economic relationship between China and America (and the West in general) has made it no longer taboo to ignore the fact that China in no way shares the same political values as the West, or the democracies in the East such as South Korea, Japan, etc.
You need to be careful when you make statements like "China in no way shares the same political values"...it comes across as a bit racist. The problem lies mostly within in the government; there is nothing inherently different with the people. Regardless, I agree with your point that one needs to keep in mind what kind of government is in charge when one gets news from state run media outlets. While the Western media may be making typical sob stories out of things that aren't, does anyone actually think Xinhua or the like are accurately reporting things? In a country that banned BBC's website among many others during the first few days of the protests, it's kinda hard to trust any media source. Yet many are willing to denounce the Western media that shows their country in a less than favorable light. Perhaps it's natural, but such irrational nationalist zeal is rarely good for anyone.
The Prince should be ashamed of itself. Could they not find members of the University community who support protests during the Olympics by those concerned about flagrant human rights abuses by the Chinese in Tibet? This entire article looks like a press release written by the Chinese government.
Neat point that the tenor of the Chinese Nationals' comments COULD be colored by real world restrictions. While I highly doubt the suggestion of some harm being visited on their families, a very real possibility would be the government's denial of that student's request to leave the country next year, or for more education in the future.
China's actions have been embarrassing, and the '08 Olympics can no longer be viewed by anyone of Chinese descent as a matter of pride but of humiliation. What a disgusting government.
To Thetruth: your oversimplied description of the history between China and Tibet, and the omission of Dalai Lama's rescinding his agreements with the Chinese government which he made in 1951, just showed either your ignorance or your intentional distortion of the facts. Sadly, these two reasons are so commonly shared by most Westerners who are among the most vocal in the Tibetan issue. I myself have not been to Tibet, so I do not want to say much about the controversy. But I ask that whoever holds a strong belief on this issue should at least back his/her arguments with first-hand information.
Clearly, all Chinese nationals are brainwashed by the chinese government. And of course they consider the implication of every single word they say, just like all teenagers right? I'll give you that..
But what about Asian Americans/Canadians who were maybe born, raised, and educated here? Mark Jia isn't a Chinese national and he has similar views.. Im not one either and Im certainly not proud of the Chinese government but the tibet is issue isn't a bunch of peaceful monks mediating and marching through the streets demanding independence. It is a bunch of monks rioting. Even burning down a store with 5 young females inside. Maybe the chinese government has some kind of brainwashing wave machine that can affect us all (all of us, thugs and goons).. Or maybe people have to consider the other side of the issue before making radical conclusions..
Here is an article that is not entirely objective but makes some valid points that is useful when approaching the topic: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12585.
Clearly, all Chinese nationals are brainwashed by the chinese government. And of course they consider the implication of every single word they say, just like all teenagers right? I'll give you that..
But what about Asian Americans/Canadians who were maybe born, raised, and educated here? Mark Jia isn't a Chinese national and he has similar views.. Im not one either and Im certainly not proud of the Chinese government but the tibet is issue isn't a bunch of peaceful monks mediating and marching through the streets demanding independence. It is a bunch of monks rioting. Even burning down a store with 5 young females inside. Maybe the chinese government has some kind of brainwashing wave machine that can affect us all (all of us, thugs and goons).. Or maybe people have to consider the other side of the issue before making radical conclusions..
Here is an article that is not entirely objective but makes some valid points that is useful when approaching the topic: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12585.
To Terrible: I ask you not to just look at the snapshot of the picture, but in the context of progress and a dynamic history. After all, Chinese goverment is a very young government (only 59 years) and has made enormous progress in the last 20 years. On the other hand, say the US government, which has been around for more than 200 years, would still go ahead and illegally invade other countries just like in the old imperial age? Which one is more promising?