2008 Woodie Awards
On the questions of Tibet, human rights, China doesn't deserve a gold medal
Dan Keenan
Issue date: 4/1/08 Section: Opinion
I believe the Dalai Lama. I admire and respect all he has done for his people in leading the Tibetans from his self-imposed exile in northern India.
I, too, believe that Tibet is on the verge of what he is warning could be a "cultural genocide" -- a term that we have unfortunately had to face many times in past decades.
Over the holiday weekend, the international community and media has miraculously remembered the nation that once was Tibet -- that land that still is Tibet to those who remain in its blurred borders. Rising tensions with Tibetan monks culminated on March 14, marking the anniversary of the failed coup against China's Communist government in 1959 -- nine years after the communists rode into Tibet and took its peaceful neighboring country over.
Seemingly overnight, the Tibetan capital of Lhasa has been transformed into a police state, with Chinese paramilitary personnel clashing with Tibetan protestors, many of whom are monks.
No American or European should watch the Olympics this summer, which are to take place in August in Beijing, China. Over the weekend, some leaders of European Union member nations tossed around the idea of boycotting
Three reasons are imprinted in my mind as reasons enough not to even tune into watching the Olympics. I am planning a boycott of my own, seeing as there is no chance in my lifetime of ever seeing the United States turn down its third-world buddy, China -- the land of lead, cheap toys and smog.
Firstly, China is an active participant in the Sudan-Darfur genocide. China has an enormous stake in the Sudan's principal export, oil. According to savedarfur.org, 7 percent of China's total oil imports come from the Sudanese. This is oil that is gathered and refined with the help of the Chinese. The profits go to funding the Islamic government's military, which kills and displaces thousands of the Sudanese people in the region.
China also purchases 71 percent of Sudan's exports, and when all is said and done, Sudan is responsible for 13 percent of China's total African trade. Maybe it is our same hunger for oil in other unstable regions of the world that allows us to understand China's "position," because we share the same one. That may explain our continued support of the Chinese.
I, too, believe that Tibet is on the verge of what he is warning could be a "cultural genocide" -- a term that we have unfortunately had to face many times in past decades.
Over the holiday weekend, the international community and media has miraculously remembered the nation that once was Tibet -- that land that still is Tibet to those who remain in its blurred borders. Rising tensions with Tibetan monks culminated on March 14, marking the anniversary of the failed coup against China's Communist government in 1959 -- nine years after the communists rode into Tibet and took its peaceful neighboring country over.
Seemingly overnight, the Tibetan capital of Lhasa has been transformed into a police state, with Chinese paramilitary personnel clashing with Tibetan protestors, many of whom are monks.
No American or European should watch the Olympics this summer, which are to take place in August in Beijing, China. Over the weekend, some leaders of European Union member nations tossed around the idea of boycotting
Three reasons are imprinted in my mind as reasons enough not to even tune into watching the Olympics. I am planning a boycott of my own, seeing as there is no chance in my lifetime of ever seeing the United States turn down its third-world buddy, China -- the land of lead, cheap toys and smog.
Firstly, China is an active participant in the Sudan-Darfur genocide. China has an enormous stake in the Sudan's principal export, oil. According to savedarfur.org, 7 percent of China's total oil imports come from the Sudanese. This is oil that is gathered and refined with the help of the Chinese. The profits go to funding the Islamic government's military, which kills and displaces thousands of the Sudanese people in the region.
China also purchases 71 percent of Sudan's exports, and when all is said and done, Sudan is responsible for 13 percent of China's total African trade. Maybe it is our same hunger for oil in other unstable regions of the world that allows us to understand China's "position," because we share the same one. That may explain our continued support of the Chinese.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Tom
posted 4/01/08 @ 2:41 AM EST
Dan, a nice article, but I think we should do a lot more than just sipping coffee and talking.
The U.S. should stand up for Tibetans and show the world that we are the true leader of freedom and democracy. (Continued…)
a chinese Catholic
posted 4/01/08 @ 10:21 AM EST
I don't like to state about this event because we don't know what was really going on. Of course I hope for a peaceful solution through dialogs. But I think there are some prejudices in the western world so I would like to tell you some facts: they say that the Han-Chinese are trying to blot out the Tibetan language. (Continued…)
a chinese Catholic
posted 4/01/08 @ 12:05 PM EST
P.S. of course, I mean that the population of ethnic Tibetans has grown ever since 1951, not that so many Han-Chinese have moved there. Instead, everybody is dread of being sent there. (Continued…)
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