If you’ve been following the news the past few days, you’ve probably heard or read about the protests by Tibetian monks and citizens protesting against the Chinese government’s “occupation” of Tibet. The protests heightened Saturday and “Chinese Forces Say They’ve Secured Tibet’s Capital”
“Conflicting reports emerged about the violence in Lhasa on Friday. The Chinese authorities denied that they had fired on protesters there, but Tibetan leaders in India told news agencies on Saturday that they had confirmed that 30 Tibetans had died and that they had unconfirmed reports that put the number at more than 100….The violence in Lhasa and Xiahe has created a major political and public relations challenge for the ruling Communist Party as Beijing prepares to play host to the Olympic Games in August. The demonstrations are the largest in Tibet since 1989, when Chinese troops used lethal force to crush an uprising by thousands of Tibetan protesters. China’s response to this week’s demonstrations is being watched carefully by the outside world. The European Union and the United States have both called on China to act with restraint. The White House called on China to “respect Tibetan culture” and issued a renewed call for dialogue between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.”
This is the nightmare scenario that China probably didn’t expect. I personally believe that a host of anti-Chinese government interests will increasingly voice their protest against Chinese policies (Tibet, human rights, Taiwan, etc.) and push the limit and see how far China will go against international condemnation and embarrassment prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic games in 8/8/2008.
Above is a BBC News is some disturbing video of the situation in Tibet.
