Meanwhile in Tibet, Repression

As Lhadon tests China’s claims of openness in Beijing, China is showing its true colors in Tibet. There, Chinese forces have arrested scores of Tibetans in eastern Tibet, and heavily increased surveillance in the capital, Lhasa.

The AP reports:

Scores of people have been arrested … following public calls for the return of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, reports said Friday.

Police and army reinforcements were sent to the town of Lithang … The reports said a local resident, Runggye Adak, was detained after he climbed onto a stage erected for Chinese officials, grabbed a microphone and asked the crowd if they wanted the Dalai Lama to return. [(H)undreds responded with a roaring yes.]

Other residents appealed to police and local officials to release him, leading officers to fire warning shots to disperse the crowd outside the local detention center.

RFA said about 200 Tibetans were detained following the protest…

(You can also read the BBC’s article on this story here.)

Meanwhile in Lhasa, China is nervous that a hunger strike by Tibetans in India (now in its 26th day) is stirring passions in Tibet. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reports: 

The tea shops, Internet cafes and telephone booths etc in all streets and alleyways of Bakhor (central market) were infiltrated by security police men in civilian dress. It is also reported that the number of police forces in civilian dress were also increased significantly to deal with any untoward incident. Moreover, restriction and vigilance was also stepped up in offices, schools, homes of ex-political prisoners and those of people whom the government deemed suspicious or normally held suspicious.

Chinese security forces are also worried about Tibetan exiles returning to Tibet:

According to a reliable source, it seems that the Chinese authorities in and around Lhasa City have issued terse instructions to travel agencies in and around Lhasa City that they were not suppose to provide help or assistance to any of expatriate Tibetans coming to Lhasa city during the coming days. If they do so they would be dealt with dire consequences of facing closure of their travel agency business if any untoward incident takes place.

These heavy-handed tactics point to a regime that feels incredibly insecure. The Chinese government knows that Tibetans see it as a foreign occupier, and that Tibetans want freedom and the return of their beloved leader, the Dalai Lama. Which is why however much China may try to whitewash its rule in Tibet, or make false promises of openness, its true colors always seem to show through. Can Tibetans ever really be free as long as China rules them?

Testing China’s Olympic Promises – Part 2

We previously wrote about a group of Tibetan journalists testing China’s promise of freedom to foreign media. We expressed skepticism about China living up to its promise, but hoped that we’d be proven wrong.

Now the Foreign Correspondents Club of China says that “China has so far failed to live up to its pledge to ensure full media freedom ahead of the Beijing Olympics, with harassment of foreign reporters still common.”
Although noting the situation is somewhat better than before (not hard to do in the country that imprisons the most journalists in the world), the FCCC remains very concerned:

“We’re especially concerned by many reports of intimidation of sources.

“A nation where citizens who speak to foreign correspondents face threats, reprisals and even bodily harm does not live up to the world’s expectations of an Olympic host,” [FCCC president Melinda Liu] added.

Problems include violence against foreign reporters covering protests, detention for unauthorised filming and being called into the Foreign Ministry for “criticism” of stories, the group said.

So it seems that limited progress has been made from a very low starting point, but nowhere near the level China promised before it got the Games. The restrictions on reporters in Tibet and East Turkistan (Xinjiang) are perhaps the most glaring gaps:

Wang Wei, secretary-general of the Beijing Olympic Committee, guaranteed foreign media would have “complete freedom to report when they come to China.”

[...]

“Not until Tibet and Xinjiang are open for foreign correspondents, and (there is) safety for the people they interview, can Mr. Wang say that he has fulfilled (his) pledge,” one unnamed correspondent said in a report summary.

There is also an incredible irony in all this: none of these promised freedoms apply to the citizens of China or Chinese-occupied Tibet, Inner Mongolia and East Turkistan. Doesn’t the Chinese government think these people deserve the same freedoms it promises to foreigners? The Chinese government is acting shamefully. This sounds like how the corrupt Nationalist government gave foreigners extraterritorial rights in 1920s China (see the famous “No Dogs and Chinese Allowed” sign in Shanghai’s international settlement).

Obviously, the Chinese government fears what would happen if these press freedoms were implemented domestically. Its power is maintained in part through its media controls. So if Chinese or Tibetans were simply able to speak their minds, the Chinese government fears the whole system may unravel. Doesn’t sound very stable to us!

Olympic Dreams and Nightmares (IHT)

The International Herald Tribune carried an opinion piece that echoes much of what SFT and the larger Tibet movement has been saying about the Olympics and China. Little comment is required:

‘Will the Olympics change China?”

[...]

Whatever happens, we will be surprised. The regime will strive to control matters, but the unexpected will occur.

I say this not just because of China’s prediction-defying track record, but also because many Olympics are remembered for things that weren’t supposed to happen. Yes, Hitler got more legitimacy than he deserved from the 1936 Games, but the stunning performance by a black American athlete, Jesse Owens, was not part of his Aryan-supremacy plan.

And who expected Munich 1972 to be remembered for a massacre? The Mexico City Games of 1968 are remembered for the Black Power salute of two African-American runners who were determined to draw attention to racism in the country for which they had just won medals.

It would be foolish to speculate about what sort of unplanned yet highly memorable event might happen during the Beijing Games. But you don’t need a crystal ball to know the sort that China’s leaders worry about most: a symbolic act of protest by a Chinese athlete or even a scene-stealing gesture of defiance by a spectator while the world’s gaze is fixed on Beijing.

The Olympics always provide a unique platform for the world’s finest athletes. The 2008 Games will also provide one for Hu Jintao & Co. in their ongoing quest to convince domestic audiences that they have made China great again; they seek to persuade international audiences that they are steering their country and its booming economy down the right path.

But this platform can’t be controlled, and China’s leaders are shrewd enough to realize the risk of trying too hard to keep the unexpected from happening.

Their hope of having the 2008 Games remembered as China’s great global coming-out party could crumble, not just as a consequence of protests but of ham-handed security measures that end in making the 2008 Games memorable less for their grandeur than for the tightly monitored nature of the proceedings.

The most interesting Olympic event to watch could turn out to be one not recognized by the International Olympic Committee: The tightrope-walk China’s leaders attempt when the global media are more focused on Beijing than they have been since 1989 – a fateful year when, as we know and Hu Jintao knows too, international audiences were alternately inspired by images of youthful Chinese protesters and appalled by those of menacing Chinese tanks.

Bloomberg Buys China’s Lies?

Wing-Gar Cheng, a Beijing-based reporter for Bloomberg News, filed an article similar to the BBC one we just discussed, but with noticeably more credence given to the Chinese government’s claims. In fact, at times the article reads like a story from China’s state-owned Xinhua News Agency: full of unsubstantiated figures, unbalanced praise for Chinese policies in Tibet, and gratuitous revisions of Tibet’s history. Sadly, one would expect much better from Bloomberg.

July 28 (Bloomberg) — China’s Tibet Autonomous Region vowed to place the protection of its glaciers, wetlands and grasslands ahead of the development of industries such as tourism and manufacturing in its economic planning.

“China’s Tibet” is a standard phrase in Chinese propaganda. It is meant to reinforce China’s claim to Tibet. It only ends up making the Chinese government look silly and insecure. They don’t have to say “China’s Shanghai,” do they?

Tibet will reject investment from industries such as mining, should they result in the erosion of land or pollution of natural reserves, Huang Yutian, head of the Lhasa economic and development zone, told reporters yesterday in the Tibetan capital.

Comrade Huang is yet another Chinese official running Tibet. (Why do there seem to be so many Chinese in positions of power in the “Tibet Autonomous Region”?) It is especially troubling how the article simply reports on what various Chinese officials claim, without including any investigation, any critical analysis, or any differing viewpoints on how unlikely it is that these promises will materialize. Instead, the article reports these statements as fact. Exactly like a Xinhua article.

(more…)

BBC Quotes SFT on Tibet Mines

The BBC just ran an article on mining in Tibet, reporting that Chinese officials claim “they will not approve mining operations in Tibet that could damage the environment.” An official in Tibet named Zhang Tianhua said, possibly with a straight face, “When there is a conflict between protecting the environment and economic development, protection will come first.”

Should we believe Mr. Zhang (by his name, clearly yet another Chinese official running Tibet)?

Mr. Zhang’s promise is contrary to policies anywhere in China, where economic gain is promoted above ecological or public health concerns. His promise is even less believable in Tibet, where the Chinese-controlled government is even less accountable to popular sentiment than in China.

In some parts of China, citizens have used the internet and print media to push for environmental protection. In Tibet, China is so obsessed with fighting “separatism” that any criticism or popular organization immediately falls under deep suspicion. Tibetans have learned that they have to keep their heads down. Is this really a situation where one would expect a government to protect the environment rather than help politically-connected and bribe-paying mining companies?

As the BBC continues,

But with mining already described as a “pillar industry”, it is unclear how a protection policy would work. Tibet has abundant mineral deposits, including copper, iron, lead and zinc.

Earlier this year, Chinese geologists announced that they had discovered 16 major mineral deposits along the railway line that connects Lhasa, the region’s capital, with the rest of China.

Parts of northern Tibet, again near the railway line, could also contain vast oil and gas reserves, the geologists added in a report carried by state-run Xinhua News Agency.

[...]

Pollution, however, is not the only concern. Critics also say Tibetans benefit least from mining in the region.

“Under Chinese rule, Tibetans have no voice to determine the use of their own natural resources,” according to a statement from rights group Students for a Free Tibet.

SFT is calling on mining companies to cease operations and exploration in Tibet until the Tibetan people can freely determine the use of their own resources — particularly non-renewable resources. For more information about this campaign and the ways that SFT is pressuring foreign mining companies, please visit http://stopminingtibet.com/.

BBC Photos on Tibet

Last week’s “Day in Pictures” series from the BBC ran some interesting photos related to Tibet, so here is the collection:

On July 27, the BBC carried this photo of His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaching in Germany:

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On July 23, the BBC carried this photo of Tibetan monks in India protesting in solidarity with the 14 Tibetans on hunger strike in New Delhi:

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And on July 25, the BBC carried this photo of “Chinese men and women, dressed in the typical costumes of the country’s ethnic minorities, listen to a pep talk ahead of the 2008 Olympics”:

The July 25 photo in particular begs for commentary: China will be using the Olympics as a propaganda tool to portray “minorities” as prosperous and happy. In upcoming Olympics-related events, look for more scenes with Chinese dressing in faux “minority” clothes, prancing around in exaggerated “ethnic” dances, oblivious to their neocolonial objectification of non-Chinese peoples. Certainly in the case of Tibet, this is a calculated move by the Chinese government to lay claim to Tibetan culture in an attempt to convince the world that Tibetans are Chinese.

Testing China’s Olympic Promises

Tibetan journalists living in exile are testing the Chinese government’s promises of greater press freedoms leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. In a letter to the Chinese ambassador in New Delhi, the journalists asked for “permission to go to China alongside media journalists from around the world during the 2008 Olympics Games.”

The Chinese government is trying to portray itself as open, confident, and with nothing to hide. When China bid for the 2008 Games, its organizing committee (backed by the government and Communist Party) promised that international journalists would have “complete freedom to report when they came to China.” So based on this, it would seem that the Tibetan journalists should start packing their bags for Beijing. Right?

…Not quite. Reporters Without Borders has issued a damning report detailing China’s failure to live up to its promises. Chinese security forces also detained reporters Tim Johnson (of McClatchy newspapers) and Harald Maass (of the Frankfurter Rundschau) for reporting in Tibet, since Beijing’s promises of press freedom doesn’t apply to Tibet (reporters must still get a special permit to go to Tibet, more difficult to obtain than the permit for tourists, meaning that China retains a veto over press in Tibet despite whatever else it says). It seems extremely unlikely that China will decide to let in the Tibetan journalists, let alone let them report freely as promised. We would love for China to prove us wrong.

So should we expect that the ostensibly new and more open China will let in the Tibetan journalists to report on the Olympics? Or will Chinese leaders act like insecure dictators with something to hide? Will they deny the journalists visas or even simply refuse to respond? Stay tuned.

China Gets Spooked! – Part 3

In the dark sea of international espionage, China’s preparations for the Beijing Olympics keep making waves. We previously discussed China’s spying and infiltration efforts against groups it considers hostile to its interests, as well as China’s widespread economic espionage. Today’s Taipei Times carried a piece by J. Michael Cole, who was involved with security for the Athens Olympics. He writes that the Beijing Olympics will involve “a whole new, genre-defining level” of security. What will be different about Beijing, moreover, is that the security will be targeted not just at terrorism, but at:

“enemies of the Games” as varied as Chinese Muslims, US Christian groups, human rights advocates, environmentalists, Tibetan independence supporters, critics of China’s role in Darfur’s genocide in the making — in all, anyone, state-based to nongovernmental, that dares criticize Beijing.

Mr. Cole is less concerned with China’s own spying, since this is nothing new. Instead, he worries that China will exploit the normal international security cooperation for all recent Olympics in order to use foreign intelligence services as its proxies.

The consequences of this decision will be that intelligence services the world over will become proxies of the Chinese apparatus, whether they like it or not. Beijing will send what are known as “trace requests,” or requests for information on suspected individuals to its sudden international allies, who will look into their database, perhaps launch investigations of their own, and whatever information is found will find its way back to Beijing. Through this process, flags will be affixed to the files of countless individuals who will either be barred from entering China or, if they do, face the risk of imprisonment.

In the name of cooperation, in the spirit of the Games, various intelligence agencies will thus become complicit in repression. Terrorism will be redefined, if only temporarily, as anything that opposes the authoritarian practices of the government in Beijing. Unless the world’s security services take the moral path — a very unlikely possibility, sadly — those will be Games for individuals who have given in to tyranny.

The marathoners will run, the swimmers will swim and the cyclists will cycle, but around them, cheering, will be the architects of a repressive regime and an army of hollow men, leaning together.

This is a very real concern.

For example, last month the US Federal Bureau of Investigation announced it is “offering its expertise to Chinese authorities who will provide security for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.” This even as the FBI is simultaneously fighting Chinese espionage in the US! According to Thomas Fuentes, assistant director of the FBI’s Office of International Operations, “There are tremendous issues of security as to who’s entering the country and what backgrounds they may have, whether they intend violence at the Olympic Games for any variety of reasons.”

Let us hope that the FBI indeed only provides the Chinese government with information on violent threats. It would be inexcusable if US taxpayer money were spent to supply the authoritarian regime in Beijing with information on American citizens who are nonviolently exercising their basic human right to free expression. If it turns out otherwise and the FBI helps China spy on peaceful US citizens, there will be an uproar like nothing else from liberals, conservatives, and moderates alike.