Ahchee, thank you for your message to the
forum and the link to the PBS Discussion thread – it is indeed useful to gain
some insight into the complexities of the relationship between Han Chinese and
Tibetan peoples and active NGO/community involvement in the TAR (Tibetan
Autonomous Region).
I think you are right, there is a
tendency to view the Tibet/China relationship in very black and white,
homogenising terms. This is partly because, in terms of liberal democratic values,
it is a black and white issue, 50 years ago one party invaded and
occupied another party and sustains that occupation through the application of
the states monopoly on “legitimate” force. That there is a much more messy and
highly contested history before
the occupation/narrative of “liberation not occupation”, and an even more
contested one since evidently suggests
simple narratives that serve to render the subject legible (2.74 million people
in Tibet, 1.3 billion people in China) also writes out the messy realities of, as
per your example, Han people working with and to help people in the TAR.
So you are quite correct that there is a
lack of information for many people in the west on which to base their
judgements about the rights and wrongs of the
I’ve seen numerous internet posts from
Chinese nationals in the diaspora, frustrated by the failure of the western
media to report on the nature and scale of protests and violence associated
with these directed at Han and Hui people and businesses. The trouble is that
when the principal source of news is government endorsed and officially
sanctioned it really is not surprising that western media and their audiences view
such news with suspicion and scepticism, particularly given the most iconic
image of
As regards your question “How do Tibetans feel about these changes” and “can
the Dalai Lama and other exiled 'elites' represent all Tibetans?” – No he
can’t. But he can serve as a figurehead for a movement that seeks to allow the
Tibetan people themselves to decide for
themselves how they are to be represented. Clearly within a liberal democratic
paradigm it would be far better to ask the people of the TAR what they think and
how they feel about the current situation. Maybe you can assist here.
Presumably the CCP has
canvassed opinion of people in the TAR, it has asked them whether the current
political arrangement suits them, whether they would prefer to secede from
China or remain as they are, whether they would like to see the Dalai Lama and
the rest of the Tibetan diaspora return from exile, whether economic growth and
massive infrastructure investment and construction is the main priority
etc.? My suspicion is that neither
of us truly know how Tibetans feel about things*, and for that matter nor do
the CCP, but I’d be interested if you could point us towards such reports and
surveys. Of course this is a slightly cheeky request since my own cultural
prejudices lead me to doubt that such opinions have been canvassed or reported,
but I would look positively on being proved wrong.
As regards brutal attacks on ordinary
citizens and torch runners. Torch bearers have been “hassled” but I am not
aware of a “brutal attack” on them. Pro-Tibetan supporters however, certainly
in the streets of
You might think it an abuse of the
Olympic spirit but I say good on ‘em. If as a by-product people like yourself
choose to communicate more fully and fulsomely about the perspective of individual
Chinese people on such events (whether as a result you succeed in persuading
people to change their perception of China and its human rights record or not)
that seems to me all to the good.
Keep it up. But expect to see more
“critical” comments in the coming months.
Respectfully,
Marc Welsh
* (as the occupied “we”, westerners, are concerned with the
Tibetans feelings, other Chinese feelings about the “splitters” are of
secondary interest as in theory we hold the right of self-determination to be
paramount. Except when we don’t!)
From:
A forum for critical and radical geographers
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of ahchee Liu
Sent: 10 April 2008 12:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Help me support Team
This critical geographer
forum is apparently overwhelmed by lofty moral defenders. This world is so
lucky to have so many people who are truly care for human rights in places like
One thing I am not quite
sure is how much those supporters for Team
The
How things have been
changed since
It is
necessary for critical geographers who genuinely care for Tibetans, care
for human rights, to gather information from both sides to form their own
judgments. Following website with some good discussions about the
http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=68073&postdays=0&postorder=asc&topic_view=&start=90&sid=ebfca82df9afec57769944971589fb66
(PBS Discussions Discussion Forums on pbs.org)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSQnK5FcKas
Ahchee
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