Economist cartoon on Tibet & Beijing Olympics

From the Economist:

Tibet Debate at Yale University

Yale University has become somewhat of a debating-ground over China’s brutal crackdown in Tibet.

It started when the sophomore (and dare we say sophomoric) Robert Li published an opinion piece that he might just as well have borrowed whole cloth from China’s Xinhua News Agency: “Dalai Lama sows seeds of selfish plan in Tibet”

His piece came under fire from this volley of rebuttals:

• Jeffrey Sun’s “Dalai Lama demonstrates will to end violence“
• Justin Lo’s “For peace, reconcile the history of China-Tibet“
• Eli Bildner’s “Yale should speak out on Tibet to ensure that silence is not mistaken for apathy“
• Kai Thaler’s “Yale risks undermining core values by supporting China“
• and the editorial, “Yale’s silence lets China off easy“

Glad to see academic debate and common sense carries the day at Yale.

Merci, monsieur le president

From Australian news, it is clear that pressure is building for a boycott (of some type) of the Beijing Olympics. This after brave monks in Lhasa’s Jokhang Cathedral caused Beijing’s foreign press propaganda tour of Tibet to backfire massively:

[French President Nicolas] Sarkozy has vowed to ask all EU leaders about the possible idea of boycotting this summer Olympic Games opening ceremony.

Just hours before he made the comments, monks from one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred temples defied Beijing’s crackdown on dissent to protest in front of visiting foreign reporters in Lhasa, voicing their support for the Dalai Lama.[...]

“At the time of the Olympics, I will be in the presidency of the European Union so I have to sound out and consult my fellow members to see whether or not we should boycott,” Sarkozy told a press conference in London after a summit with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[...]

Slovenia, the EU’s current president until July 1, agreed to make Tibet a late addition to the agenda of an EU foreign ministers meeting in Slovenia from Friday.

Poland’s prime minister has already joined the Czech president in saying he will not go to China for the Olympics.

“My evaluation is very clear. The presence of politicians at the inauguration of the Olympics seems inappropriate,” Polish premier Donald Tusk told the country’s Dziennik daily, announcing his absence from the event.

Statements worth torture and imprisonment

The IHT has more on what the brave monks of the Jokhang Cathedral told the foreign reporters. These monks must have known that their actions would lead to arrest, imprisonment and probable torture, especially because of how forcefully their actions rebutted and embarrassed the Chinese government.

They must have felt it was worth it to be able to give their message to the world. So what could they have to say that could be so important? Read on:

“What the government is saying is not true,” a monk shouted as a wellspring of grievances poured out, first in Tibetan and then in Chinese after the confused reporters asked them to switch. Finally, government officials abruptly ended the session and told the journalists it was “time to go.”[...]

The emotional, 15-minute outburst by the red-robed monks decrying their lack of religious freedom was the only spontaneous moment Thursday in an otherwise tightly controlled government trip to the Tibetan capital for foreign reporters following this month’s deadly riots.

As reporters were ushered toward the temple’s inner shrine by a senior monk and administrator, the 30 young monks began shouting to them. The monks said the believers then in the shrine were fake — members of China’s ruling Communist Party.

They complained that troops had ringed the monastery and kept it shut with all 117 monks inside since March 10 — the day the protests began — and that the guards were only removed Wednesday, when foreign journalists arrived.

The monks, speaking in Tibetan, claimed government officials were trying to turn Tibetans against them by telling lies. But the monks didn’t elaborate on the alleged lies, according to a translation by Tibetan scholars in the U.S who listened to an audiotape of the confrontation made by AP Television News.

“They have destroyed the way we are seen by the people,” one monk said. “We are like prisoners here,” said another.

As the monks blurted out a stream of complaints, one cried: “The government is always telling lies, it’s all lies.”

“They killed many people. They killed many people,” a monk said.

Later, a monk speaking in Chinese said the death toll was far higher than the government was saying. “The cadres and the army killed more than 100 Tibetans. They arrested more than a thousand.”

“Tibetans have no freedom,” a monk said after some of them switched to Chinese. “We want the Dalai Lama to come back,” said another, adding that they were certain they would be detained when the reporters left.

“They want us to curse the Dalai Lama and that is not right,” a monk added.

Day 18 Update from the March

Since many of the Marchers did not have proper walking shoes, this morning was spent buying shoes and other necessary items in Chandigarh.

Around 5:30pm, the Marchers gathered together to walk the 5 kilometers from the Gurdwara to Sector 17 of Chandigarh where a candle light vigil was held. This walk was the first time the first group of Core Marchers and the second group of Core Marchers walked together. They walked in single file forming an impressively long line. (more…)