Comments on: Tibet: Her Pain, My Shame

By: atan liar

atan liar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:02:38 +0000

I often wonder why nobody, especially the oversea Tibetans, is making any effort to get the Dalai Lama to complain to the Indian Govt. regarding the theft of a large chunk of Southern Tibet which has now become another province of India. His Holiness seems at peace with the loss of such a big part of Southern Tibet which the Indians renamed Arunachal Pradesh in the Mid-70′s in the last century. Actually, it was the colonial British govt. which unilaterally carved out that huge slice of border territory from the new weak post-Qing Republican Chinese government in the early 1900s. Subsequent Chinese Governments have never recognized the British wicked demarcation of the border known in the West as the McMahon Line. The Chinese people and government have always been very tolerant with India over the current border situation. I have always felt that it is about time India shows some goodwill by sitting down and talking with China to come to a amicable situation

By: flyhigher

flyhigher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:26:19 +0000

Why no one points out that Dalai Lama receives contributions from CIA annually? Why no one points out that the “Shangri-La” of Tibet under Dalai Lama’s rule was basically a slavery society and violence and killing happened so frequently? Why no one points out that USA has always accepted Tibet is part of China before 1949? Shame on all of you!

By: atan liar

atan liar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:33:17 +0000

How come nobody is calling for a return of the USA to its indigenous population?Or return Alaska which the USA had cheated from the Russian Czar? Or give back the portion of southern USA to the Mexicans? Or return Guandanamo to the Cubans?

By: Liang

Liang — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:07:55 +0000

This is truly what many of us Chinese need to see and express because if not we will regret as a human being and as a Chinese.
Tibetans have such beautiful heart that when ever I bring up the topic of Tibet with Chinese who call themselves “Patriots”, it just cuts my heart to hear them speak so demeaning of Tibetans as if they are not human.
It is shameful and sad state when us Chinese can’t do our own research about Tibet and come up with our own understanding rather than just blindly accepting what ever Chinese Media are saying.

Freedom to the Tibetan people from Brutal Chinese government and Chinese igorance.

By: Racheal

Racheal — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:41:32 +0000

Nepacific,

I recommend a book by Claude Arpi, a well-known historian called “Tibet: The Lost Frontier. This book would be helpful for you to learn about the history of the Roof of the World and her political contacts with two giant neighbors, India and China.

Best Wishes,
Racheal

By: jh

jh — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:36:23 +0000

@Nepacific:
“China needs Tibet as a buffer against its largest future rival, India.”
This is a strange assumption. I wonder what it is based on.
India has never been an “empire” like China. To the contrary, it has been invaded by Persians, Greeks, Moghuls and others. Only independence from British rule created a nation state that is nowadays called India.
India through the millenia has exported its culture to Asia (like Hinduism all the way to Bali, or Buddhism to China, Tibet and the rest of Asia) but never any hegemonical power (unlike China).
Borders between India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan used to be open with free flow of goods, people and ideas…
I can’t see any justification for your claim.
Rather the opposite is true: Tibet for centuries has been a buffer between Indian and Chinese civilization. By sinicizing Tibet the Chinese have actually destroyed the buffer and are now threatening India with territorial claims. If India is going nuclear, it is because it is threatened by China!

By: Racheal

Racheal — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:32:18 +0000

Nepacific,

Just out of curiosity, you mentioned that Tibet has been part of China for centuries. I am just wondering based on what documents or any materials you are making such assumption. I am not arguing or anything because you do have the right to express your opinion regarding such sensitive topic, but it would be much better for all of us if you can justify such opinion

I just want to share my opinion on the complex history. Before I attended college, I always thought that Tibet was always part of China. However, it was still vague. I started reading books and documents from both Tibetan and Chinese side on this topic. After carefully reading those materials, it is very much hard to come to certain conclusion because both sides have their own version of history. Both seem pretty convincing, but essentially, it seems that Tibetan side of the history contain much more ample evidence than the Chinese side of the history. I, even had conversations with historians from both sides when I was in Beijing [July 2006] and in Dharamsala, India [Aug 2007]. Obviosly, the task was much difficult in Beijing because I understand it is a very sensitive topic to touch upon, especially for someone who does not look anywhere close to Asian. But I manage to do so in both countries and I pretty much cleared some of those vagueness in my mind by doing those multiple task to justify the opinion.

Best Wishes,
Racheal

By: nepacific

nepacific — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:50:25 +0000

Even though I think China has been excessively criticized over Tibet, I much appreciated Ms. Tang’s heartfelt article. And the vicious responses of some Chinese posters are shameful.

But I believe that the post-war move toward decolonization into ethnic nation-states has in general been a disaster, leading to untold violence, hatred, and suffering.

I agree with the Dalai Lama’s general policy of increased autonomy for Tibet, to protect its culture. But independence is a non-starter. A billion and half Chinese are not going to give up a huge chunk of their territory to a few million Tibetans. China needs Tibet as a buffer against its largest future rival, India.

And I believe that agitation toward Tibetan independence is in part fomented by US intelligence agencies, since it weakens a potential enemy of the US. Splitting up the Soviet Union worked, so they want to split up China, too.

Tibet, in my opinion, has been part of China for centuries, perhaps even since the time that Tibetans helped the Mongols rule China. That Tibetan culture and Chinese culture are different doesn’t affect this — unless you think that every cultural group should have its own nation, and are willing to accept the violence and hatred this will lead to.

If Tibet were independent, it would become a political football competed over by China, India, Russia, the US, and any other powers that arise. That unstable situation would not be good for anyone, Tibetans included.

By: Racheal

Racheal — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:57:22 +0000

B-R-A-V-O for speaking up something that you truly believe in

Best Wishes,
Racheal

By: …My heart’s in Accra » China, bias, misunderstanding

…My heart’s in Accra » China, bias, misunderstanding — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:13:58 +0000

[...] like Global Voices can help build bridges of cultural understanding. He offers a story about Tang Danhong, a Han woman who’s lived in Tibet for ten years and has been writing epic poetry to try to [...]