Living Earth
Growing from the roots.The Political Primate
Have we no sanctity? It seems that the wrong ways of the past are being used to justify the wrong ways of the current. Things like human rights, compassion and the common good are becoming more or less just words instead of real things; Simple concepts or ideals represented by strings of letters, regarded as either unrealistic, improbable or a fiction so poisonous that it contaminates and possesses anyone who recognizes it as truth. While the conflict and tension between China and the United States of America has been a longstanding issue, recently the stand for tibet and human rights in China has become more political than it is sensible, and, for lack of a better word, humane.
When China first entered tibet in 1950, many Tibetans, including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, fled to nearby areas like Nepal and India. Those who didn’t, however, were met with extreme disposition. Among the reactions, many Tibetans (especially the monks), opted for peaceful protests, where they gathered, chanting and holding up signs in support of a free Tibet. Other monks even set themselves on fire as a symbolic gesture. As is the current case, the former were detained and frequently beaten. Many accounts exist of experiences in Chinese prisons, and Tibetans are among the most shocking; if not for the treatment of the Tibetans, than for their treatment in comparison/contrast to/of their action(s).
In March 2008, there was a significant amount of unrest in Tibet when mass riots formed and monks revolted. While there is no denying the fact that a substantial amount of damage was done, the amount of victims/casualties remains disputed, with Students for a Free Tibet claiming a great number more Tibetans were killed than China reported. The tension between the Tibetan and Chinese sides got so intense that all riots started taking place all over the world, especially in the United States. In one particular case at Duke University, a Chinese girl trying to qualm both sides wound up being rejected and insulted by both. She began to receive death threats against her and her family, and her personal information was leaked by her own country, forcing her parents to go into hiding. Thus, leading up to the olympics in Beijing, there was much activity both within Tibet and outside of it. At this time, China put more troops in Tibet to suppress any opposition at all. During the olympics, the rest of the world was offered a quick glimpse at Tibet, though instead of appeasing the curiosity and concern about the Tibetan people, it showed what force China is willing to use in order to prevent any negativity being portrayed. After the olympics, China proceeded to once again clench their fist on Tibet, sending in more troops and enforcing an even stronger crackdown. Such amount of power in quantities like this can’t be good for anyone, as the people of the world would soon come to find out. In January 2009, a young man who had taken part in a peaceful protest full of banners, fliers, and slogan-shouting passed away. His death was anything but the result of natural causes. During the protest, he and his fellow protesters were detained by Chinese authorities, and it was the beatings he received from them that killed him. This is a crucial event because it makes void any attempt by China to deny its inhumane treatment of its people, particularly Tibetans.
On February 9, 2009, the United Nations gathered to review the human rights records of countries around the world. China was among one of the most to look forward to, as it had avoided such events and criticism for a long while, using its political strength to pressure others and, ultimately, to avoid pressure themselves. In addition to China submitting an incomplete and distorted report on their human rights records, China managed to make a mockery of the review, gaining praise from countries such as Cuba, and dismissing or denying any claim about Tibet and other hot topics, claiming it was not open for discussion, let alone anyone else’s business. When the UN had reached a conclusion on ways for China to improve the treatment of its people, China just shrugged them off. Soon after, China called out Australia and the United States for their human rights records, claiming they should be improved. Where does this come from? How is it that it has become possible for human rights to be made into a card in the game of political power? If China is going to deny the UN’s suggestions for improvement, and ignore or not discuss the more important issues, than they are going against the greater good. If we are interested in living amongst each other in peace and functionality; if we are interested in paving a future for the youth of today, tomorrow, and the next day; if we are to aim for order and fairness, then we must come together and listen to each other. To do otherwise is, in itself, to show selfish and/or malicious intent. Furthermore, to turn around after backing away and place the same accusations on others is to commit the epitome of hypocrisy on a massive scale. The way in which China handles its power and global influence is only tactful in the way that it is unstable and ignorant.
The same actions and reactions apply when it comes to culture and ethnic integrity. Later on in February, the Tibetan people decided that instead of celebrating Losar, the Tibetan new year, they would instead spend their time in mourning. What’s interesting is that rather than be satisfied, as would be expected if one were to follow the pattern of China’s objectives, China became upset. It wanted the Tibetans to celebrate to convey a positive image of Tibet’s current conditions. Instead, the days of Losar were full of prayers, candle-light vigils, and messages for the Chinese to, among other things, listen to Tibetans. The fact that China enforced celebration, though, is interesting, as it follows the trend of China demolishing the culture and ethnic integrity of the Tibetan people before rebuilding or reinforcing it for exploitation and/or to improve the public image at a time of their own convenience. Another instance can be found in Paris, where ancient Chinese artifacts, the bronze heads of a rat and a rabbit, were being sold. The artifacts were looted from the imperial garden in the late 1800’s. They are a significant part of Chinese cultural history, and, as such, were severely sought after by China, who made numerous attempts to stop the sale and assure the return of the artifacts. When you decimate a land along with its culture, how can you be one to demand the rightful sustainment of your own?
What was shocking for many was Hillary Clinton’s visit to China. This is a former first lady and governor, just named the Secretary of State, whom has done numerous speeches on human rights, even at China’s discomfort. In addition to being in favor of awarding the Dalai Lama the congressional gold medal, she consistently stuck up for Tibet, encouraging Sino-Tibetan discussions and urging Bush to skip the opening ceremony of the olympics in Beijing. However, upon arriving in China, she discussed how she would be putting economic issues ahead of that of human rights. While on the one hand, this is understandable, considering complications with China would be inopportune while attempting to rebuild the economy of the United States, it’s still a surprise to see her put such a passion and important subject aside in the name of politics.
It seems that whenever China comes under more pressure in regards to Tibet and human rights, it closes off Tibet either partially or entirely. When this occurs, not even journalists are allowed into the region, and thus we are unable to know anything about the then current status of it, which, in addition to the fact that it was the one to close it off in the first place, makes it hard to believe China’s reports and evaluations of the conditions. Getting past all of that, what even gives anyone the right to disallow others from areas of land in the first place? The belief that one has any ultimate ownership over land is preposterous to begin with, and to deny access to a certain area of land such as Tibet is to impose on the rights of everyone you exclude. This is slightly reminiscent of the way in which China bans people from returning, or even coming in the first place. Accounts of bans are ubiquitous, though as of recent, a good many of them are the result of mentioning Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and/or anything in between.
In regards to politics, human rights don’t necessarily have a place, but rather are at the basis of human existence, without which politics wouldn’t even be possible. Therefore, it’s intriguing to witness the world issues of today, primarily in relevance to China. It seems, though, that today, in the modern day and age, we are further growing, if not maturing as a world of nothing but politics, forgetting our human nature and that of others. We hold such high regard for ourselves, considering humans to be superior, but, and especially with the current global standpoint, one can only wonder how advanced we actually are, what advancement really means, and whether or not we’re really just diving so far down into politics that we’re simply digressing into a sort of “political primate”.
You know…
It’s really pathetic how people keep bringing up American history, as it’s not only history, but also a lame excuse. The US isn’t the only one objecting to China’s human rights violations, and today an unspeakable amount of Americans do realize that the way early settlers treated natives was anything but proper. Additionally, America is a melting pot, a lot of people in the US aren’t even related to the early settlers. More importantly, China’s violations are current events, not historic ones.
In short, what many people fail to realize is that even though the past is full of wrong-doings, it’s still the past, you can’t change that. But this is in the present, and we know better, so why not do something about it now? Granted, saying the past is the past is rather frank, but it’s the truth. You can’t simply justify these actions by citing history and/or pointing out the saying “history repeats itself,” because it doesn’t have to happen that way, and it shouldn’t.
If we, the humans, couldn’t tell that such acts were wrong before, we can at least tell now from experience. It’s a bittersweet fact to both endure and indulge in, but being persistent in ignoring past lessons does nothing but feed the fire, bringing it one step closer to consuming us all before burning us and leaving behind nothing but a trail of soot.
Too many people fully confide in their sources, allowing no room for outside opinion. Even though this is a constant factor, the recent attention being paid towards China has done nothing but amplify the static of irrationality, illegitimacy, egocentricity and utter bias, drowning out the voice of reason and equality.
The whole concept of claiming land is both ridiculous and preposterous by itself, let alone having human rights violations attached.
Here and Now: China, Tibet & The World
A short while ago I realized that you can take a certain subject and subscribe to receive updates, articles and even videos about it. So, rather than spend more time looking through a plethora of pages, I decided to take the more efficient route and combine these updates with my own efforts.
It sure has been a struggle for everyone to deal with this issue, and yet still, nobody seems to understand the true message here.
I’m going to list some opinions I’ve come across that seem to be the main sources for peoples’ arguments.
Tibet:
-is not a part of China.
-once was a part of China but now is not.
-was a part of China, but, due to its location, it was able to maintain a steady autonomy, if not being mostly an independent country.
-is a part of China.
Before going on, I have to say that any claims of owning land are absolutely ridiculous. Such claims are only reflective of the egoism that has grown to run rampant in society. Mankind seems to have forgotten where it came from.
First of all, not only does Tibet have its own language, but it also had many other attributes that may as well have made it free if it weren’t already. That being said, the social structure of Tibet before the PRC’s involvement was indeed far from ideal. The rich were few, but they were powerful. Additionally, the historical British involvement in Tibet is not very pretty, either.
We can all sit here and dispute claims and actions, but, aside from severe procrastination and heightened tension, what does that accomplish? I’m not saying the past is the past, and therefore Tibet should be free and have nothing to do with China, because that stance would be far too narrow-minded. However, the fact is that this is what’s currently going on.
China reflects on the British, mentioning how they killed many Tibetans and treated them unjustly. That’s understandable, but it’s also over. If the British were still there, or even just trying to get there again, maybe that would be a bit more understandable, especially when used to reason current military occupation.
China also calls America out on their treatment of Native Americans. This makes complete sense in terms of comparison, but when used to support an argument it’s extremely faulty. I think most, if not all Americans know that the way the Native Americans were treated was completely out of the question. Furthermore, America is a melting pot, comprised of many ethnicities, religions, etc., and is frequently changing. I was born in America, but my ancestors weren’t. My ancestors did not fight the Native American presence, and they did not own slaves. Also, if I wasn’t involved, and I certainly wouldn’t like for it to have happened at all, nor happen again, why am I to blame? So saying that the early settlers’ treatment of Native Americans justifies the PRC’s presence in Tibet is illegitimate. In bringing up that issue, China basically said, “Yeah but you…” which can be compared to an argument with a young child. Also, if this stance was applied on a larger scale, it would mean that, for example, Germany should be prevented from standing up against anything remotely related to human/civil rights, even though its current views are monumentally different than what they once were.
China also has very Orwellian censorship. After the riots in Tibet, even news reporters within China were unaware. This censorship has to come under question when discussing facts, and separating them from the opinions sprouted from not knowing key components. China says that Tibet has always been a part of China, and
that there are many sources of evidence to support this claim. Yet, not only are there also documents that suggest Tibet’s independence, but also, how can you believe China’s claims when the restriction is so great? It’s quite clear that the censorship has provided those within China with a sense of solidarity in their views, and one must question how much control China has over its people. For, even if said documents were presented before the public, how would you know if they were fabricated or archaically obsolete?
Yet, from the other side, the USA has indeed allowed itself to commit similar acts of censorship. Among others, CNN was called out for cropping its images to promote an anti-China bias. Though the network apologized, additionally stating that the original photographs could be located within the gallery, it is still heavily criticized.
China has even described His Holiness The Dalai Lama as having a “human face and the heart of a beast.” The Dalai Lama has been calling for peace, and even threatened to leave his position as the head of the Tibetan government in exile if the violence continued, yet China still calls him a separatist. China has condemned His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his supporters, calling them the “Dalai Clique,” refusing to have anything to do with them, despite global efforts for China to have a discussion with His Holiness. China is also forcing Tibetans to publicly denounce the Dalai Lama.
Having said all that, I must say that this conflict is not completely one-sided. The recent treatment of Chinese by Tibetans is indeed disgraceful. Even though the Dalai Lama encourages nonviolence, Tibetans have injured, killed, or otherwise threatened the well-being of many Chinese people, committing the very acts that they protest. It is very clear that this is not right, but history is more useful in this case. Since the PRC’s occupation of Tibet: Monasteries have been destroyed (only to be rebuilt and exploited for tourism); important documents, religious artifacts, etc. have been looted, decimated or taken for public, foreign exhibition; and many Tibetans have been severely injured, killed or imprisoned and tortured for reasons such as practicing their religion (conducting ceremonies, celebrating, etc.), having a picture of the Dalai Lama, peaceful protests, etc. Granted, these reasons don’t apply to all cases, but certainly to many of them. The Chinese also continue to affect the fragile balance that exists in Tibet’s environment. The railway is in the way of animal routes, and it continues to bring in many Chinese that flock to Tibet because of the many promised high-paying jobs, thus running many Tibetans out of work and home. Even though many may say that this is not true, because of China’s attempts to stomp out the Tibetan language, many Tibetans are unable to find jobs at all simply because they do not know Chinese. The land is being used for reasons that are improper (ex. crops), and places that were once considered sacred have been turned into Red Light Districts for Chinese soldiers. It seems that China is focusing almost solely on numbers–the billions of dollars they’re investing in Tibet–without paying attention to the Tibetan people or Tibetan culture.
Why is it that China is just now clearing the air in Beijing? Why is it just now that all these efforts are being made to clean up? Should it not be that efforts are made only after the rest of the world is watching? If China wants to claim its rule over Tibet, they’re certainly doing themselves a disservice by handling it the way they are. Being so hostile towards His Holiness and his efforts for peace, and getting so enraged at other countries for having anything positive to do with him does not help China’s image at all. The actions of the Chinese people, even outside of China, are also detrimental to the image that China is attempting to convey. One of the hottest topics in relevance to this is, for me, the counter protest at Duke University. It was clear that both sides had an opinion, but the actions of the group in favor of China’s rule were completely uncalled for. Additionally, the maltreatment of a young woman who was only trying to mediate the conflict is even more disgraceful. Is this the way people will be treated if they don’t pick between black or white?
Everyone can play the name game, but it really comes down to a matter of action. The Chinese have accomplished some good things in Tibet, but they’ve taken it too far too fast, and don’t seem to acknowledge any of the mistakes they’ve made. With the recent publicity that the issue of Tibet has attracted, facts and constructive suggestions have been increasingly trampled over by people who base their arguments off of the gist of things that they (think they) know. There are many people who protest, but can’t even locate Tibet on a map. Who, then, do you need to go to in order to rationally discuss this issue and actually have it noticed?
It seems as though we’re led to believe that humans are the most progressive species, and that people have the power of decision and voice, yet when it comes to being heard, the world leaders are too busy gambling with our lives. It is in this day and age that we need to truly listen and understand, for if we judge too quickly we’ll only exacerbate things.
