Destroying Tibetan identity

One Tibetan summed it up very simply:

We're not sure if it's true that the Panchen was appointed by the government, but if it is true, we cannot support him. We wouldn't support a Dalai Lama appointed by the government either. These people should be chosen by monasteries.

There's been this hatred for a long time. Sometimes you would even wonder how we had avoided open confrontation for so many years. This is a hatred that cannot be solved by arresting a few people.

If we did not believe in Buddhism, we would have rioted a long time ago. We endured and endured, but now it has become impossible to endure any more.

While the Han Chinese are supported by the government and receive what was once traditional Tibetan land and protection by the police and military, the Tibetans are shunted off to the equivalent of urban ghettos or small remote isolated villages.

Beijing's attitude to the media was highlighted by foreign media coverage of the Sichuan quake that favoured Beijing. That support however, was rapidly reversed when the media began to explore the corruption behind the causes of collapsed public buildings, especially schools and hospitals as well as the later diversion of funds and resources. There will be continued heavily conditioned and controlled coverage for foreign media on Tibet, as will be the case for the 2008 Olympics supporting the increasing claim that the CCP cannot be trusted to meet its promises in respect to media and human rights.

In respect to Beijing's strategy against the Dalai Lama, it will be interesting to see just how long India will put up with the same delays and procrastination from China on the border issues and China's more ambitious Himalayan Strategy.

History shows that media attention rapidly moves on once an Olympics is over. The 2008 Olympics however not only has the potential to prolong media interest, it has the potential to increase that interest with intensifying coverage ranging from the world's number one polluter and Kyoto rejector, its headlong and unsustainable rush for economic growth at any cost, sacrificing human rights and the health and welfare of its own citizens.

The story of China's water, pollution, environment and abuse of the rights of its rural poor as well as the people of Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang is too good to let go. It will never go away. The more Beijing represses the freedom of the media, the more it isolates itself from positive media coverage. The proposed diversion of the Brahmaputra into China is another story gaining momentum. The horrifying human impact on downstream populations on this sacred river is already the focus of increasing numbers of journalists and activist groups.

Was the IOC right?

Given the foregoing, it would appear that the IOC has failed miserably in its responsibilities in measuring up China for the 2008 Olympics.

Could that really be the case, given the calibre and international standing of those on the IOC?

Or is it possible that the foregoing comments unfairly treat the IOC itself and its members who, from their backgrounds, should have been only too well aware of the internal workings of China and the CCP and what would happen once China committed to the Games?

Surely, such an experienced and committed group must have been only too well aware of the consequences. Once committed China would be subjected to intense ongoing scrutiny and criticism that would eventually justify the granting and with it the aims of the Olympics and much mianji (face making) for the IOC and its members.