Breaking News
In recent but not so recent news… 08/08/08
This was a while back, and though it’s not necessarily breaking news, I decided it was something worth mentioning since so much of the world was involved in it. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics last summer, the Chinese government agreed to work on improving human rights conditions in Tibet with the condition that they would get to host the Games in their nation’s capital. However, according to the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, this promise was not upheld. Even nonviolent, peaceful protests were immediately put to a halt and basically anything that did not align with the government’s opinion on the matter was suppressed. I remember hearing on the news how people were told over and over before the Olympics started not to “cause trouble” concerning the issues of human rights with Tibet and the controversy over Taiwan’s sovereignty. People were literally risking their lives to stand up for their beliefs – whenever monks or any other Tibetans were asked to denounce their support for the Dalai Lama and align their thinking with that of the government, they refused, and often ended up in jail under threat of torture.
I feel like it’s really not right for things to be this way. The most and practically the only important thing to the majority of Tibetans is their faith, and for them not to be allowed to have even that seems like a real injustice. China has been criticized by other countries on accounts of numerous injustices of this sort toward the people of Tibet. While the nation does have a right to handle its own affairs independently, issues of oppression become worldwide affairs when not addressed and fixed straight away. I feel that people everywhere should have a right to practice their religion freely, not just in democracies. It’s fine for countries like China to have their own system of government, but it’s not okay to force the people within that government to believe everything they are “supposed to” believe.
http://tibet.com/NewsRoom/afterolympics1.htm
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Problems in Xinjiang Autonomous Region not so different from those in Tibet – 10/12/09
Six men from the Chinese province of Xinjiang were sentenced to death on Monday for their involvement in rioting that took place back in July. A seventh man involved received a life sentence in prison. The names of all seven suggest them to be members of the Uyghur ethnic minority, the fifth largest minority in China which has suffered discrimination from the Han majority for many years. They are a group of Turkic Muslims who were once the dominant people in the region that is now Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and riots broke out in the region’s capital, Urumqi, on July 5th for unknown reasons, though ethnic tensions are at the heart of the matter.
I had heard a little in July about the rioting in Xinjiang between the Han and the Uyghur peoples, but I knew very little about the issue at the time. It seems to me that the Uyghur conflict with the Han Chinese is very similar to the plight of the people of Tibet. Both groups were once the primary inhabitants of their regions, whereas now, the People’s Republic of China has actually offered incentives for those in other regions of China to move to the Tibet and Uyghur Autonomous Regions to maintain a governmental stronghold on those areas. While I do feel that justice should be brought to those who started the Urumqi riots, as nearly two hundred innocent people died and many more were left injured, I still can’t help but empathize with the Uyghur minority and understand their reasons for wanting to fight back against their oppressors. The people of Tibet face a very similar oppression, but for the most part, their responses to it take on a more peaceful approach. The Dalai Lama, who is both the spiritual and political leader of Tibet, was strongly influenced by Gandhi and always encourages nonviolent protest, as opposed to outright rioting.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/12/world/AP-AS-China-Protest.html?scp=14&sq=uighur&st=cse
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China criticized for human rights issues while trying to promote its art and culture – 10/19/09
China made an effort to advance its culture, rather than its economy, in the eyes of the world at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. However, the plan backfired when the country ended up falling under criticism for numerous political issues it has, including Taiwan, Tibet, and human rights abuses. China was meant to be the honored guest at the book fair, but representatives of the delegation which attended the event said that they did not feel very welcome at all and that the media were extremely biased against them. There were also many books that have banned in the communist country at Frankfurt, which did not make the Chinese too thrilled to be there either.
While I feel bad that China was not treated with a whole lot of respect at the Frankfurt book fair, I also feel that this was really not a good time at all for them to be promoting cultural and literary works. The country already made a wonderful impression on the world last year with the Olympics, so it would have been better to leave well enough alone. I think China has too many controversial issues right now, specifically Tibet, which are keeping it from rising as a truly respectable world power. The delegation they sent to Frankfurt was worried that the Dalai Lama might come, and indeed, a representative of his did end up coming. It seems like, if you have to worry about someone coming to an event you’re attending, you’re probably not treating them very well in the first place. I think China should definitely reconsider some of the issues for which it is being criticized before trying to win the world over again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/world/asia/19books.html?_r=1
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Four Tibetans executed for involvement in March 2008 riots – 10/22/09
According to Tibetan exile groups in India, four men and women were recently put to death in Lhasa for their involvement in a mass protest that took place during March of last year. These Tibetans were convicted of setting fire to shops in the capital which killed seven people. Eleven others died in the 2008 protests which were mainly caused by ethnic tensions. As more and more Han Chinese continue to move to areas that were once entirely Tibetan, the area’s natives grow more and more fed up with the initiatives that China is taking to maintain its hold on Tibet. Human rights groups say that the four involved here were not granted a fair trial and that their executions were completely out of line.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/world/asia/24china.html?_r=3&scp=2&sq=tibet&st=cse
http://www.tchrd.org/press/2009/pr20091022.html
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Dalai Lama says peace is still growing in the world – 11/05/09
The Dalai Lama discussed the force of peace on Earth when visiting Japan recently. As he stood near a memorial of the Battle of Okinawa, he talked about how important nonviolence is to us all in this day and age. The Dalai Lama said that everyone needs to be compassionate, and that starts with not just a sense of pitying, but with a genuine concern for the well-being of others. I feel like what he said really rings true. If more people continue to care and make efforts toward a more peaceful world, than issues like those Tibet is facing can be overcome through compassion and brotherhood. It may take a long time, but I hope we’ll get there someday.
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IU Senior witnesses violence in Tibet during study abroad – 11/06/09
A student from our very own Indiana University was featured on the front page of the Indiana Daily Student just a few days ago, telling of her experience in Tibet and China during the previous several months. According to the article, Abby Borger, who asked the writer to change her name to protect her identity, was to study at Tibet University in Lhasa starting on August 28. However, plans changed quickly when she was denied renewal of her visa. Borger had studied in Nanjing, China for the last full academic year and when her visa expired just days before she was to begin classes in Tibet, she discovered that all foreigners would be made to leave before October 1, the so-called ”Tibetan independence day.” Violence was expected to ensue and no one from outside was supposed to witness it. However, Borger did see violence while she was in Tibet: men being beaten in the street and others being thrown into the backs of trucks by government officials. She said that she is now on the government’s watch list because she has seen more than the Chinese wanted her to, and she fears for the safety of the friends she left behind. I think this goes to show that the violence that goes on in Tibet is not just imagined – someone from the same university as all of us has witnessed it firsthand. You cannot just deny that there are human rights abuses in the world when someone who could be just a mile or two away from you this minute tells you that she has seen it with her own eyes. I have heard that Abby Borger will continue to spread the story of her experience, and I hope she does, because I think everyone should at the very least be aware of what’s going on in the world, whether it affects them directly or not.
http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=71726&search=tibet§ion=search
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China upset by Dalai Lama’s trip to India – 11/09/09
Although Tibet’s spiritual leader has repeatedly stated that his visit to the Indian town of Tawang, near the Chinese border, is completely nonpolitical, the officials from the People’s Republic of China are still speaking out against it. More than 30,000 people congregated to hear him speak of peace and compassion, nothing at all related to the political conflict China faces with Tibet. It’s upsetting that the Chinese cannot even allow the Dalai Lama to make religious discourses without freaking out about them. All of the things China is criticized for never come up in his talks, yet government officials refuse to sit still when the Dalai Lama is nearby.
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India helping to ease tensions with China – 10/09/09
Upon the Dalai Lama’s visit to Tawang, on the border of China and India, Indian officials have decided to limit the amount of media coverage so as to pacify Chinese concerns. China is very worried that the Dalai Lama will speak out against the People’s Republic, and that in turn is hurting the country’s relations with India. Although India went ahead and allowed for the visit after a great deal of protesting on the part of the Chinese, they claim security will be very tight and no foreign media will be in attendance.
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Obama planning to discuss problems in Tibet with Chinese president – 11/10/09
President Obama will be making his first visit to Asia in just a couple of days, during which time he plans to meet with the president of the People’s Republic of China, Hu Jintao. With Hu, he intends to discuss issues of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, rule of law, access to information, and finally… Tibet. Many Americans are outraged at the human rights abuses that have taken place in China and are wanting Obama to do what he can do ameliorate the problems faced by the people there. Although our president did not meet with the Dalai Lama while he was visiting Washington, Americans still have faith that he will do what he can do protect the rights of those at home and overseas, including the Tibetans.
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Prayers that Dalai Lama will return to Tibet – 11/10/09
The Dalai Lama is currently in Tawang, in the region of Arunachal Pradesh in India, where he will spend the next week speaking about Buddhism and its tenets. The people of the area are well aware that their home is near Zemithang, the place where the Tibetan spiritual leader left Tibet and fled to India 50 years before. This close proximity is bringing hope to people and they are praying that he may return to Tibet within his lifetime. One man said that until China lets up its grip on Tibet a little, that may not ever happen. Tibetans strongly desire to have the Dalai Lama present among them once more, for “Buddhism may die if [he] is unable to return to Tibet.”
