Professor Jiang Wenran writes on YaleGlobal:
China is a world power on the rise, with a growing economy, a proud citizen base that cherishes education, and leadership that promises peaceful transitions to democracy. All will be on display with the Beijing Olympics in August. But national aspirations can collide with the expectations generated abroad, explains analyst Wenran Jiang in the final article of a three-part series. Tibet has been one such area where Chinese policy has run smack into global expectations about its treatment of a devoutly religious people. Unrest in Tibet inspired protests along most of the Olympic torch’s global route, accompanied by bitter exchanges between China’s critics and supporters. “The current confrontation over Tibet is as much about Tibet, human rights and the Olympics as it is about the rules of engagement in the international system, the rules developed in the West – human rights, press freedom and other norms of a modern society,” writes Jiang. The acting director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta in Canada calls for China to demonstrate strength and courage – and ability to embrace internationalism rather than nationalism – by calling for an end to attacks, giving unrestricted access to foreign media and even extending an Olympics invitation to the exiled Dalai Lama. – YaleGlobal
