Still Tibetan after all these years
Posted by tiffany613 on February 10, 2007
Click here to read the whole story on the Economist: still-tibetan-after-all-these-years.doc
My opinion:
The impression, which this article tried to create that China, is ruling Tibet by force and therefore unable to win the support of Tibetans, is flawed in many respects.
First, Tibet is an integral part of China and the policies and programmes of the government have greatly ameliorated the sufferings of Tibetans.
Second, the Chinese admire and promote the cultural and religious heritages of minority groups such as Tibet but are firmly opposed to the separatist tendency of people like the Dalai Lama, who want to divide their country. Is the writer saying that the government should allow Tibet to secede? If so, why didn’t Britain allow Northern Ireland to declare its independence when the latter was clamoring for self-rule?
Even more ridiculous is the assertion that the Chinese government is implementing its development policies because it hopes that economic growth would quench demands for greeter political liberty. The economic policies, which have made life easier for the people, are not targeted at only Tibetans. They are for all Chinese and Tibet, as a part of the country cannot be excluded. And why would anybody complain that Tibetans are being empowered economically? Isn’t economic empowerment part of the creed of liberal democracy?
The Chinese are not illegitimate invaders of Tibet, and there is no attempt to impose a particular culture or language on the people. While the Mandarin remains the official Chinese language, there are over 80 distinct dialects. While Tibetans study Mandarin for ease of communication, they are not under any obligation to jettison their own language.
