Could the media be wrong on Tibet? Might China be right?

This article opens up a completely different side of what we have been seeing reported here in the US. Take a read of the article and ask yourself; has the media jumped the gun once again? Thoughts!?

Before negating the media or articles, just realize they are forming their opinion on the information provided to them. The truth is in information, so when Chinese media censors the information, they censor truth and understanding. Our beliefs and priorities may be different, but the facts known are - Tibetans are being tortured and imprisoned for their opinions, Chinese government is forcing Tibet nomads off their land, and the increasing number of police in Tibet creates fear and silence about the issue. The censoring of press and the casualties involved only evoke more anger and confusion. Let us not walk among each other angry and confused, but seek truth and peace.

History is repeating itself, and if we try to learn from each other's mistakes and change that which we are not proud of, perhaps the next generation will walk with more pride and less fear in their hearts.

THANK YOU HollyGolly - I have a difficult time believing how many people are just learining about this. China illegally invaded Tibet in 1949, in 1959 due to escalating violence and threats from the Chinese government the Dali Lama had to flee Tibet since there has been a steady stream of refugees flowing out of Tibet. I have followed this issue closely for 2 decades now, I am sorry to say I believe we are all too late. The world has chosen over and over again to turn a blind eye to this, as well as many other situations, and now here we are. China said initially after the March demonstrations they would re-open Tibet on May 1. Now it is clear this will not happen until after the Olympics. It would not surprise me if the Chinese government slaughters all Tibetans for causing the Chinese Communist Party to loose face in front of the world. After all name a country that is going to go and stop them.

... and look at their (Chinese gov't) response to all this. Apparently organizing an army of comrades to post propaganda and comments to the internet, 'busing' in pro-China protesters to San Francisco, Australia and else where....

OK and research on the web address shows the Asia Sentinel is coming off a server in Hong Kong - Chinese Gov't Controlled info.....

The problem with trying to get a clear picture of what's going on in Tibet, is that all Chinese Government controlled sources are completely unreliable.

there are two different matters. one is west media misleading and create untrue news. one is Chinese communist governement use up hand to control tibet. Actually all chinese are aware of government cersorship and no one really deny china has its problem regarding human right record. But it doesnt give any excuse to those west media to publish fake news or incorrect image with very misleading slogan.

I think that there's enough "proof" that China indeed is not in the right.

Let's see what happens when the Olympics start!! Yay!!

There is MUCH control in China, they appear to not care what they do and what is initally seen. The policy is simply flat out denial. What will happen at the Olympics?? I wish something would, I have little hope anyone will be succesful. After all you understand there will be a percentage of spectatrtors that will actually be a part of the para-military police.. Love to see something more embarrass the Chinese, expecially at the games, hoping for the best!

Some of the reader comments on the root site are kind of unsettling (e.g. the person that rants and raves about war with the west)

jhaber: are you a chinese plant? I mean, really....give me a break.....good research briaz861....

Come now; don't start calling people "plants" because they offer a different opinion up for debate. That's one of the most annoying things those of the "Left" can do, and it is done far too often.

I personally side with Tibet on the matter, but only because of the mounds of evidence I've read/ seen/ heard. MOUNDS.

tatuaje 17 - FYI and for anyone else that wants to know… go to the web site samspade.org there you can enter web address, IP's, e-mail and get as much info about the item your researching..... In my former incarnation I was senior management for a major financial institution in the credit card fraud division... thankfully now I am a full time artist....

BTW anyone else seeing this Chinese propaganda popping up all over the web????

Briaz is on the money. This is nothing new from the Chinese government. Still, I am a bit hesitant to come down on China for human rights abuses, when we seem to have plenty of our own issues at home. True, no one likes to see innocent being hurt, but we have the same issues at home. While I do feel like China needs to pull it up, it's a difficult proposition to judge a country on the very same acts we commit.

Excellent and I fully agree AreOh... however I will say I do send the letters and speak my voice here in the US regarding our abuses in the world, so I am less hesitant to speak up.... could be a full time job, sadly. I believe fully in the middle path.....

Areoh: it's true, we are behind only China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia when it comes to killing are own citizens....
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0420-07.htm

Still, it doesn't mean that we as citizens of the world can't hold China accountable....

Humdrum: I'm sure he/she is not a plant....wait, how can I be sure? If they are, I get three points....if they're not, they should be filtering their news with heavier cloth....

Oh, I agree. My statement is not meant to provide an out for us as Americans, but rather just perspective. It's cool to get up and arms about the abuses of our fellow humans in Tibet, but have the same fervor at home, you know? It struck me as, well, kinda of hypocritical when protesters stateside took the Olympic torch runners to task, which have nothing to do with the Chinese government or Tibet for that matter, but how many people realize the travesty that is happening in the city we formerly knew as New Orleans? I'm all for supporting the enemies oppression anywhere, but we need to keep it in perspective.

http://savetibet.org/news/newsitem.php?id=1289

hmmmm....

humdrum, i agree!

more and more, i'm noticing the prevalence of the typical racist mob mentality against the chinese, as indicated in comments by people like briaz's "Love to see something more embarrass the Chinese, expecially at the games, hoping for the best!"

we seem to have missed the mark in unifying against human rights violations all together. the chinese people are also suffering from their own domestic and foreign policies, just like the US. we shouldn't admonish the people. it's the policies of the government and military oppression that we need to criticize.

like i said in other threads, it's hard to accept people from the US and the UK criticizing China and other countries when their own country have far worse records. if our will to change oppression and suffering are genuine and true, we would stop aiming at the people of China and start focusing on human rights violations by our own country first and foremost.

in the US, there needs to be more focus on the extreme political, economic, and spiritual persecution of the Lakota people. if you have the energy to shout about human rights, our own native population could sure use that power and energy. results are more realistic!

i'm with Humdrum - while i emphatically support Tibet , it does strike me as overtly "west coast hippie granola " BS that native americans here aren't spotlighted to the same degree - maybe it's just a matter of convenience - if you want to vent your frustrations about evil in this world it's much easier to pick a faraway place like Tibet than the US , whose history of injustice is too close to home for white citizens , and constitutes a kind of cognitive clusterf-k when it comes down to actually doing anything which requires serious political involvement - the kind which would mean actually knowing how US politics work , as opposed to just waving tibetan flags and obstructing a runner with a torch .

These are the same people who publish that junk about Hummers being more fuel efficient than Priuses. As my friend W would say "fuzzy math."

Just imagine that I was the much condemned, human-right-violating, and Tibet-suppressing Chinese Government. OK?
Would I like to instigate the violence right now before the Olympics that has been so carefully prepared for 10 years? NO. Who would be the happiest to see violence before the Olympics then? Very probably, the Tibetan independence pursers.
Who are these Tibetan independence pursers? They appear so justified, so righteous, and so angry before the poor-portrayed Chinese government. However, the westerners seem to neglect a critical point: today’s Kind and Peaceful Dalai Lama was the Biggest Slave Owner about 50 years ago! Moreover, the common westerners know little about the terrible things, like human skin peeling and skeleton kettle making, ordered by this very Kind and Peaceful Dalai Lama before China’s “invasion” into Tibet about 50 years ago.”
Did China invade Tibet? Yes. But it happened nearly ONE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED years ago instead of the western-believed 50 years ago! Furthermore, by constant cultural exchanges and economic communication, Han and Tibetans are both infused into the 56-ethnicity CHINA. It is also WRONG to consider China invading Tibet because you cannot invade yourself, like France invading Corsica, Britain invading Northern Ireland, or USA invading North America.
Ok! A summary now: it is the peaceful Dalai Lama who provokes the violence; what he really seeks is not independence but a lost power; and the last but not least, China cannot invade herself!

jhaber -
apart from all the other things I could say. One simple response to your article here would be:

"if western media is so wrong why can't they move freely around Tibet to see for themselves & by talking and asking anyone they want there?"

BTW
iamchinese is a dodgy individual, he's been posting this pro chinese video all over current (only joined recently). briaz861 -> if you wanna be paranoid about chinese plants - look at iamchinese and his posts

Dear JRM,
Please don't DODGE my THREE concluding points above by your
"apart from all the other things I could say. One simple response to your article here would be:
'if western media is so wrong why can't they move freely around Tibet to see for themselves & by talking and asking anyone they want there?'"
Although you DODGE my conclusion, I would like to answer your question: why does not the Chinese government allow the western media to visit Tibet? Personally and frankly, I like this question very much. Did the British/French government PARTICULARLY send invitations to foreign media and ask them to investigate the Northern Ireland issue/Corsica uprising? Did the US government specifically ask the Chinese media to investigate the status quo of the black people and Indians living in North America? In fact, I myself despise such analogies because, as far as I know, the ordinary Han people and common Tibetans are brothers and sisters for hundreds of years instead of the former colonial relationship between western whites and aboriginals.
You may not be satisfied with this answer. Should the Chinese government forbid the western media to come into Tibet although it is hard to “invite” them? I would like to explain you the specific situations here. To be frank, we are still a developing country and there is not much media openness across mainland China, not excluding Tibet or any specific region, due to historical and economic reasons. The Han people are sometimes silenced too if they encounter their own problems. But it is changing, little by little but better and better. If not, I would not have my paste seen here. Now you may understand why the western media is forbidden to come to Tibet a little better. It is mainly due to social and political causes instead of ethnical problems. In China, democracy is still being slowly but firmly carried out. Please be patient and give our government the necessary TIME to change it. As ordinary people, we also long for complete democracy and we especially thank those ordinary western people who kindly wish for a democratic and peaceful China. So, we are on the same basis, aren't we?

Justinhhm I'm gonna give you my last response - which is the same one i sent to iamchenese earlier, it gets to the point for me, (you seem to be bringing up multiple points/subjects):

At the moment a lot of my anger/concern is towards the current American administration and its foreign policy (for example). _BUT_ - i see hope - when i read and hear Americans openly speaking out against it, Americans admit there are problems that need solving, and want those changes to take place for the better. I don't ever see that with Chinese people on the subject of Tibet (they get very defensive etc, as you and iamchinese really are) - it might not hurt to open your mind to what your country has been doing to Tibet for 50 years! - help change for the better rather than look for excuses to hide, run, and lash out defensively. make sense?

Thanks for your response, but please don't label me over-defensive. Have a look at my sentences above:
"To be frank, we are still a developing country and there is not much media openness across mainland China, not excluding Tibet or any specific region, due to historical and economic reasons."
"The Han people are sometimes silenced too if they encounter their own problems."
"In China, democracy is still being slowly but firmly carried out. Please be patient and give our government the necessary TIME to change it."

I am not introducing multiple points here. I am trying to illustrate the essence of the Tibetan problem, which is more about social and democratic development than ethnic clashes. I hope you understand it.
BTW, America is the leading country on this planet, which is understandably justifiable for many of her activities around the globe. The peculiar American frankness, generosity, and heroism are all admirable in the eyes of ordinary Chinese people. That I here pick her fault doesnot mean the USA is not by far the most developed, the most rightous country this planet has ever seen.

AS A CHINESE

When We were called Sick man of Asia, We were called The Peril. When We are billed to be the next Superpower, We are called The threat. When We were closed our doors, You smuggled Drugs to Open Markets. When We Embrace Freed Trade, You blame us for Taking away your jobs. When We were falling apart, You marched in your troops and wanted your fair share. When We were putting the broken peices together again, Free Tibet you screamed, it was an invasion! ( When Woodrow Wilson Couldnt give back Birth Place of Confucius back to Us, But He did bought a ticket for the Famine Relief Ball for us.) So, We Tried Communism, You hated us for being communists. When We embrace Capitalism, You hate

us for being Capitalist. When We have a Billion people, you said we were destroying the planet. When We are tried limited our numbers, you said It was human rights abuse.
When We were Poor, You think we are dogs. When We Loan you cash, You blame us for your debts. When We build our industries, You called us Polluters. When we sell you goods, You blame us for global warming. When We buy oil, You called that exploitation and Genocide. When You fight for oil, You called that Liberation. When We were lost in Chaos and rampage, You wanted Rules of Law for us. When We uphold law and order against Violence, You called that Violating Human Rights. When We were silent, You said you want us to have Free Speech. When We were silent no more, You say we were Brainwashed-Xenophoics. Why do you hate us so much? We asked. Why chose a time that every chinese is looking forward to a great event welcome all west people and show the world the progress we made these years, why chose a time like that to insult
the chinese, i believe though loads of problems exist, as long as we are progressing in a reasonable pace, we should be encouraged in stead of being put more pressure.

ok - I think i'm seeing a pattern here.

Justinhhm - joined current in the last 24 hrs
heaven61 - joined current in the last 24 hrs
iamchinese - joined current in the last 24hrs

you are all only posting VERY pro-chinese / anti-western comments...............
hmmmmmmmmmmm

you guys (if you are not the same person) sound like big cry babies - trying to get us to sympathize with you - like China is the victim here!
This is about Tibet..... ok? can you guys even admit that what has been happening to the Tibetans is wrong??

I'm gonna leave this page behind me now, but I think , in summary.
Mr hu jintao should Instead of trying to proclaim his holiness The Dalai Lama as a terrorist leader, lol (always makes me laugh when I hear that - who does he think he's kidding?) - he should hold talks with him (I'm sure he would find him very nice & sincere).
And the Chinese government should release the Tibetan Panchen Lama.
Long live Kundun!
peace!

JRM, yes i did regsiter last 24 hours, because i was introduced by my friend who are westner. so i dont anti west, but just want to be fair. if you think anybody pro-china is propagande, just show you can not and be afraid to hear different voice.

JRM - you seem keen to call some Chinese people commenting on this article plants and 'dodgy individuals' and seeing patterns because there are three of them. From my perspective they seem to just be expressing an opinion you don't like. Then you state it may not hurt for THEM to 'open their minds' rather than lashing out defensively. Always hard to see our own blindspots huh?