'Social disorder' on the Tibetan Plateau

We tried to communicate with the outside world, but the town was shut-down. Outgoing information was controlled. So I borrowed a satellite-phone from an Israeli Army man on holidays, contacted my daughter in Australia and asked her to notify Amnesty International of this incident.

And on the way down from the Plateau, our bus was searched twice. First by grim-faced armed police, then later by soldiers in battle-dress. The Khamba driver was alert to the roadblocks, and assisted three young Khamba men aboard the bus to escape detection by allowing them to disembark before the first roadblock.

The “clean-up” had begun.

So, what do I make of all this? I can understand China's fear of chaos and disintegration, and its subsequent need for control. However, I cannot understand why it continues to use such bloody methods to maintain control.

In the end this policy will prove to be self-defeating. Sooner or later, the people will demand more enlightened behaviour from their government.

This is what China really fears.

The world will be watching closely to see how China responds to larger outbreaks of social disorder which may occur around the country as the world economic crisis impacts on the lives of its citizens.

Shutting down communication from China to the rest of the world won’t be as easy as shutting down communication from an isolated valley up on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.