Turmoil in Tibet
In an article called Fire on the roof of the World published on Malaysiakini, Sim Kwang Yang said that despite “fast emerging as the third largest economy of the world, with military strength to match its economic prowess, and with obvious aspiration to become a top-notch superpower of the world”, China “has not yet stepped over the threshold of a Third World nation” judging by its handling of the crisis in Tibet.
I totally agree with Sim Kwang Yang’s analysis of the situation in Tibet and China’s handling of the situation. The Chinese is one country that I do not put a lot of trust in. How can I, when basic human rights are constantly trampled on in that country?
Not too long ago at a coffeeshop in my hometown in Malaysia, I had a discussion with a friend about the economic growth in China. He was working in China and was very impressed by the development taking place there. He was adamant about the fact that China was going to overtake the United States as the biggest economic power in the world. I was, however, very skeptical of that notion. Nobody knows how much longer The People’s Republic of China is going to remain a whole entity. If that falls apart, that would be the end of China’s ambition as the next great economic power.
News coming out of Tibet and the harsh treatment of the Chinese government on the anti-China demonstrations are scant and what little does come out, looks very bleak indeed for the Tibetans. News videos on the anti-China demonstrations uploaded on YouTube are countered by pro-China videos calling events and news reporting on Tibet as lies and propaganda of the Western media against the Chinese.
You have to wonder how much the Chinese government is willing to go through to protect its image in the eyes of the world, especially now with the Summer Olympics in Beijing just around the corner. I was among the people who objected to rewarding China by awarding it the right to host the Summer Olympics for 2008. I do not believe in depriving athletes of their chance to participate in the Olympics by boycotting the games but there has to be greater pressure put on China by the world’s community over its treatment of the Tibetans.
Here’s a March 18 video clip of the demonstrations in Tibet.
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