Tibet, Olympic, China 2008: Things got complicated

It’s always difficult to see the truth.

There were protests against Olympic torch relay in America, France, and Britain recently. The reason behind the protest, as the protesters claimed, was to voice out complaints for recent Tibetan crackdown. The protesters believed Chinese government had cracked down on pro-independent movement of Tibet and brought about bloody incidents.

Not being an intellect in this field but with a careful and solemn attitude I would like to try to sell short and analyze the situation from a few perspectives. Below are some questions we can try to answer for a better or hopefully non-biased understanding of this issue:

Q) What really happened in Tibet? Chinese government said it’s the Tibetan riot conspirated by Dalai Lama group. Some western media said it is Chinese government inhuman crackdown on pro-independent demonstration of Tibetan. We see altered and modified photos (admitted later by some media) on newspapers and internet. We see lots of views of video shots on the net, each telling their sides of stories. What really happened? For sure it’s a complicated issue with many parties chipping in their shares.

Q) Did the Tibetan really look for independence? Tibet first became a part of China back in Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). There are actually two versions of story of how Tibet became part of China (or not). In 1950s, Dalai Lama was in charge of Tibet, the rich noblemen and religious institutions in Tibet owed almost all the wealth; local Serfs had no education. In 1951, a 17-point agreement concerning the peaceful liberation of Tibet was signed in which the 14th Dalai Lama acknowledged Tibet is part of China. Dalai Lama later fled from Tibet in 1959, partly because of pressure from the Tibetan religious institutions and a riot arrangement by CIA and MI5 (or MI6?). And there are different versions of the view too. And we do see many players involved.

Q) Which party/parties was/were responsible? Parties involved could be: 1) Some local Tibetan group or probably rioters; 2) China government and policemen; 3) Dalai Lama group; 4) Politically-motivated world leaders/figures; 5) Invisible economically-motivated big companies and etc. 1% of population of rich and powerful but evil force can squeeze the rest of 99% dry. Is this true?

Q) What were the motives? Different people have different motives: 1) Tibetan wants more freedom? 2) Dalai Lama group was manipulated by external influence? 3) Some current world powers see China as a threat and try to bring her down? Any oil in Tibet? Wonder if some parties involved really care about the welfare of Tibetan people. 4) Some media tycoons flex their manipulating power as political wings? “The motive behind Tibetan riot is an international conspiracy to destroy Beijing Olympic”, an article wrote, 5 days before March 14th riot.

Q) Why so close before Beijing Olympics? The timing is near perfect. Some parties could be taking advantage of this time to make China conform to certain requirements. So is this a threat? A weakness that some mighty powers seize as good time to stop ever developing China? Some believe one would have to be blind not to see the connection.

Q) Which parties would benefit from such acts? To answer this question, let’s take a look at countries on the prints, countries/political figures/economical companies who or which have a lot of says with Tibet or China. Tibet is a place that is lacking of many monetary and natural resources. How does this place come into the picture? So it can be safely said that China is the target. If China failed to rise up economical and politically in world map, who or which countries would benefit more? Some former colonial powers still believe in imposing their own standards and rights onto others.

Q) Any biases in reporting the issue? Biases take place in many places; especially when it’s very politically and economically motivated (This writing is biased too, simply because I’m deliberately offering a DIFFERENT view?). Since strong media are mostly controlled by the ex-colonial powers, they could work hand in hand to bring upcoming players to their knees. Can we say there have been some crude attempts at misrepresenting China? You can be your own judge. Before rushing to do so, read many prints as diverse as possible and as many languages too. Bias may take place if there are misunderstandings, misrepresented critics, or malicious attacks.

For a very complicated issue we were looking for one simple answer. Could the approach have been wrong?

Many incidents are blinded or manipulated in the history of human beings. For many we’ll never know the truth. For those that matter to us we’ll have to relearn the lessons.

We always have to ask ourselves these questions: Am I doing the right things? Is this really for the benefits of mankind? For the healthy growth of a dignified and conscientious being?

More often than not, we know the answers are mostly “No” in our hearts, which is the reason why it’s always difficult to see the truth.

Link: www.beijing2008.cn