I remember sitting in front of my TV this spring and seeing footage of monks speaking out to reporters who were on a government-orchestrated tour of Tibet. Before the Olympic games, China was trying to give the impression that the uprisings that occurred across Tibet beginning March 10th of this year had been quelled and that Tibetans were happy. The monks were supposed to keep quiet, but they didn't. I remember the monks sobbing to reporters, telling them that they had no human rights in China, that they weren't allowed to practice their religion, that they were forced to denounce the Dalai Lama as their leader. What courage it must have taken them, knowing what had happend to others who'd spoken out in the preceding weeks . I remember thinking that the monks I saw on the news were clearly identifiable by Chinese police, and were probably already dead by the time I was watching the footage.
I'm not sure what happened to the monks I saw on the news, but the latest report published by a Tibetan human rights group describes the marked increase in unspeakable crimes against the Tibetans in China during the past nine months. Hundreds have been killed--either shot on the spot during protests; or rounded up in the middle of the night, beaten, tortured, and released, only to die within days because state-run hospitals refused to treat them. It is estimated that approximately 6,700 Tibetans have been taken into "custody" since March. Many have been "released", but only after days or months of severe beatings and torture. Some have been convicted of their "crimes" (such as waving the Tibetan flag and shouting slogans) and will remain in prisons. The whereabouts of over one thousand are unknown. Bodies of victims (some still alive) have been cremated to erase evidence of torture.
In the years since China invaded the soverign nation of Tibet in 1949, 1.2 million Tibetans have been exterminated. But this is China today. This is the China from which we buy and to which we sell our goods. This is the China that seems to have been welcomed with open arms and few reservations into the global economy. This is the China that is fast becoming more influential than the US. I thought that since none of this information is in the mainstream media, I would post it here.
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2 comments:
Thanks for posting this. I remember seeing the same thing on TV earlier this year. Maybe it was the same special--I remember a British journalist talking about being arrested (and later released) just for interviewing and videotaping a group of monks who were protesting. Anyway, I had no idea that things were as bad as you mentioned. You're right that more people need to be aware. That's pretty horrific.
Wow. Yeah, I saw similar coverage of the events on TV, but I didn't realize that the situation was that terrible. Thanks for the information. As if the led based paint they use in toys that poisons our children wasn't enough to make you want to stop buying products made in their sweat shops...
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