Chinese citizens’ reactions to western media reports on Tibetan issues have surprised many western people. Chinese people’s global protests of western media and western governments reflect the Chinese government’s long-term influence. During this movement, the official state-run media attack from China along with the criticism of individual top officials from Europe and the U.S. encouraged Chinese citizens’ sentiments of nationalism and boosted anti-American feelings. Below is an article from the Xinhua website criticizing Paula Dobriansky, the U.S. Undersecretary of State [1]
The Washington Post on Monday, April 21, published an article titled “The Way Forward in Tibet” by Paula J. Dobriansky, the Undersecretary of State for democracy and global affairs in the U.S. State Department, and her capacity was specifically labeled at the end of the article as the “U.S. special coordinator for Tibetan issues.”
First of all, her role as a coordinator invites some questions. Common knowledge tells us that a coordinator has to be accepted or approved by both parties in a dispute, whereas the capacity of Dobriansky here is the outcome imposed by the U.S. government, a third party from the outside, and the Chinese government has never recognized her as she has wishfully imagined or thought of.
Secondly, as a coordinator, one should keep to an uninhibited, impartial and just stance, whereas Dobriansky not only listens to and believes in one side, but openly shields one party and blames the other party, without any fairness to speak of.
Thirdly, a coordinator should have an in-depth understanding and make rather extensive studies on the problems that are to be dealt with. If one has a smattering of hearsay knowledge, makes frivolous comments and talks a lot of nonsense, he or she will make himself or herself a laughing stock. Apparently, Dobriansky has made such a ridiculous error.
Then, let us first look at her knowledge of Tibet. By relying solely on, or basing herself on, distorted reports from a few Western media and briefing reports from the U.S. embassies and consulates, she citied the March 14 Lhasa incident as “peaceful protests” and demanded for China to release people. How could you demand this so harshly, if it is not out of an ill intention? So many video scenes recorded by both Chinese and foreign cameramen obviously show “Tibetan independence” protestors setting fire to stalls, attacking schools, killing or hacking to injure innocent civilians, and how can such obvious violence be said to be “peaceful protests” or demonstrations?
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Moreover, the riots in Tibet are caused by a few “Tibetan independence” protestors with an aim to capitalize on Beijing’s summer Olympic Games to divide China and seek Tibetan independence at the very instigation of the Dalai Lama. Even the Western media have not made any denial of this evidence.
Paula J. Dobriansky, however, alleged in her article that “underlying these tragic events is China’s long-standing repression of religious, cultural and other freedoms for the Tibetan people.” She is simply telling a bare-faced lie!
Any people who have been to Tibet or those with the slightest interest in Tibet know that the Lamaseries and Buddhist temples across the region are resounding with the chanting of Buddhist sutras and the freedom of Tibetans in their religious belief has never been subjected to government interference. The Chinese central government has, on a couple of occasions, made huge appropriations for overhauling or repairing temples and Lamaseries, preserving cultural relics, or sifting classic Tibetan works; these are facts there for all to see. Why does Dobriansky turn a blind eye to all these things? And is this the little, pitiful Tibet-related knowledge the so-called coordinator possesses on Tibetan issues?
Both Dobriansky and the U.S. Congress have honored the Dalai Lama as a “man of peace” who has advocated a “middle way” that embraces “autonomy for Tibet” within China and “rejects seeking independence” and they even said he “has publicly come out strongly against the violence” and “indicated his support for holding the Olympic Games in Beijing.” A host of ironclad facts so far unveiled have long proven that the Dalai Lama is a man who never means what he says. He utters beautiful, high-sounding words before the scene on one hand and, on the other hand, he masterminds violence behind the scene. So, it is not inappropriate to depict him as the most hypocritical person in the world.
It was reported that Dobriansky attended the fifth “International Tibet Support Groups Conference” in Brussels in May 2007. It was at this conference that the “Tibet independence” organization adopted a strategic plan as well as the related plan of action to take the Olympic Games in Beijing as the main target of assaults in the coming 15 months, and the commander to organize such “Tibetan independence” activities sits right there inside of the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C..
Does the “special coordinator for Tibetan issues” who had been at that conference really not know any moves of the Dalai clique to sabotage the Beijing Olympic Games? She still cites that “he is supportive of the Olympic Games in Beijing”? Is this “coordinator” cheating herself or deceiving others?
Endnotes:
People’s Daily, April 23, 2008
[1] http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-04/23/content_8032052.htm; (original Chinese article)
[2] http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91342/6397699.htm