Update on Tibetan Situation

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I write you from Dharamsala, India. As most of you know, I have spent about half of the past five years in Nepal, India and Tibet with Tibetan people of many different varieties. I returned to Dharamsala in April of this year, at which time the protests and peaceful demonstrations that began in Lhasa on March 10 and spread to every Tibetan settlement in the world had been continuing for almost a month. There was a sense of opportunity and excitement, especially amongst young Tibetans, as well as fear about what the repercussions of the events in their homeland would be.

As the Chinese Communist Party has taken an increasingly heavy hand in its supression of dissent, that atmosphere of excitement has given way to a feeling of hopelessness. Since the last members of the independent press have been evicted from Tibetan areas, reporting on the continued struggle of Tibetans in Tibet for basic human rights has waned. However, we know that the use of deadly force against peaceful demonstrators and mass arrests have only increased, in spite of the fact that anyone thought to be related in any way to any kind of dissent must live in fear of a mid-night abduction by paramilitary police. A previous Tibetan employee of the Lha Community Social Work Organization (a social work organization I volunteer with in Dharamsala, India), who now lives in Canada, wrote the following:

"...My brother, who suffers from tuberculosis,
my sister and two uncles, who have never been involved
in any type of demonstration or protest, were detained
without cause... on the grounds of what can only be assumed as
mere suspicion... My parents figure that at least a couple of
thousand innocent Tibetans from Lhasa City alone are
imprisoned, where they are maltreated, neglected and
possibly tortured. They were finally released... My brother and sister
were first taken... beaten with rifles, kicked and thrown
into a truck. They were taken out of the city to
an unknown location, and were put into a small
concrete room with 400 other Tibetans. There were no
washrooms, and they received no food nor water for two
days and nights. Hardly anyone could stand up by
themselves because of the beatings. After two days
they were transferred to another place where there
were about 6000 Tibetans. There they received a bowl
of rice or small steam cooked bread twice per day.
They received water and had a toilet in this location.
After a week in this place, they were transferred
again, where they stayed around two weeks. Here they
got blankets to sleep with, but before they had to
sleep on the concrete floor (with no blankets). At
this final location they also had first aid
assistance, which was needed as many people had broken
bones. When they released my brother and sister, they
kept my brother's watch and his rosary, which
had some semi-precious stones, and all the money they
had (they don't use banks and keep most of their money
on them)..."

Accounts of torture used on political prisoners in all parts of China are well documented, and many are not fortunate to be released so soon. For example, last Friday a Tibetan nomad was sentenced (without trial) to five years imprisonment for merely shouting 'Long Live the Dalai Lama' at an official's meeting.

I have a close American friend who has been working in eastern Tibet for the last four years, teaching English and working to build schools, clinics and water wells. Although she has never had any trouble extending her visa, in early June a group of officials came to her remote village and gave her ten days to leave China. She worries about why the Chinese government found it necessary to remove her witnessing eyes from a place to which she has dedicated so much. Satellite dishes are now banned there, making it impossible for the locals to get any international (and therefore unbiased) news. She wrote to me:

"The government is also limiting communication in particular areas. Since March they have shut down numerous cellular towers and more recently denied access even on satellite phones...

There may not be any more uprisings: There are troops in every town that has paved roads. The army marches through town streets three times a day, paralyzing the Tibetans with fear. Surveillance cameras were installed in places that don't even have running water. Many monks, nuns and students were forced to return to the area that their ID card was issued, since travel outside of their hometown is officially prohibited right now.

Foreigners are not allowed to stay in areas that have had protests. In Amdo many people remain in prison since the March uprisings- their families unable to come up with bail. Bail can range from $1,000 to $2,000. Private schools have been shut down in Amdo, and teachers and principals face threats of losing their jobs."

I spent June in Kathmandu, Nepal, where peaceful protests are also continuing. On June 19, the father of the Tibetan family I lived with for 3 months in 2003 was arrested with 700 other Tibetans at a demonstration at the Chinese Embassy. Just last Friday, 118 Tibetans were arrested. He said didn't mind the arrest, since international pressure by the UN and the US Ambassador had reduced the violence the Nepalese police were using. However, he was disheartened by the entire situation. There is a growing feeling of hopelessness in the face of the great power of the Chinese Communist government. To my Tibetan friends in Nepal and India that I work with every day, it seems that the all governments, the UN, the media, and especially multinational corporations are ignoring their basic moral obligation to stand up for human rights and democracy in Tibet and everywhere else. Most of them feel like there is little they can do for their relatives and friends back home in Tibet, except maybe pray.

Please dedicate your prayers and aspirations to those suffering in Tibet and China, and also, please make yourself informed!

Peace Love and Light from Dharamsala, India.

Why Support a Boycott of Chinese Goods?

I am happy to hear that you and others have been giving this a lot of thought. My mind circles these issues often, and it can be distressing, and its definitely complicated.

I am definitely not representing anyone's opinions except my own. The Dalai Lama has stated over and over his well thought out compromise solution, which he appropriately terms "the middle way approach," (supported by the democratically elected Tibetan Exile Parlaiment - Karshag). He is not calling for independence from China. Actually, he stopped calling for Independence in 1979. The Chinese continue to pretend that they don't understand this so that they can continue to label him a 'counter revolutionary splittist' and ignore his position, a solution that is actually very favorable for China. It is an issue of face for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). By backing off any of their previous claims that HHDL (who they've called a demon in monk's robes) is trying to create a counter revolution, then they implicitly admit that they've been wrong on some level, which the hard headed bastards can't do in front of their citizens.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has not been calling for a boycott. However, HHDL is politically moderate, looking for compromise solutions. He has to: it is the only realistic approach for him as the de-facto representative of the Tibetan people. He has been pressing for a mutually beneficial solution for the Chinese and Tibetans both inside and outside of Tibet. I agree with the Dalai Lama: the Chinese people are great people (though sadly misinformed usually) and they are our friends and brothers. Our beef is with the CCP.

I am not a political moderate. We as Americans don't have to kowtow to the CCP: we don't have to depreciate our position to make the Chinese listen to us. Why? The Chinese already listen to us, because we have been making them rich, and they don't want that to stop. I personally have adopted what some would view as a radical position: calling for a 100% boycott. There are two results to taking a radical position. One is that the other side becomes radically polarized against your radical position. I don't think this will happen. The other is that you pull the opposition or third parties into a more favorable moderate position from your point of view. I call for a boycott, you look for a compromise, and then the compromise looks way better and you seem to be the level-headed one. My radical view puts the free traders (who don't give a fuck about fair trade and all its implications) into a radical position. That way, the free and fair trade position becomes the moderate position (which is the compromise solution that HHDL would be in favor of, that would be an actual solution). So while I recognize that a full boycott is unreasonable from most points of view, I'll still scream and yell about it.

China's Most Favored Nation Trade Status should be revoked.

I take a great exception to the statement that, "in general, I think our trading relationship with China has been beneficial to both our countries overall." Every month the US is cutting 30,000, 40,000, 60,000 jobs. Many of these are manufacturing based. Why can't we make shit in America and buy that shit in America, since Americans love to buy shit so much. Are we incapable?

The US government should adopt a policy of Free and FAIR Trade, ensuring that the companies that US companies do business with are sustainable environmentally, and conform to our standards of labor policies. Sure, this is idealistic, but wasn't the New Deal also idealistic? Or Reconstruction after the Civil War idealistic? Or moving from a Fossil Fuel based economy to a Renewable based economy?

I agree that the way the US has gone about appying sanctions has been largely ineffective in the past, taking Cuba, Iraq and Iran into account. However, I do believe that economic sanctions are effective in some circumstances, and I think that this is one. The CCP and especially the PLA (people's liberation army) own many of the companies that manufacture the goods that we import. They own many corporations that we do business with. They are making money through taxes and direct ownership of these organizations. Much of this money is used for military purposes.

A boycott is justified on some of these grounds:

1) The CCP's Human Rights record in mainland China and minority areas. Brutal repression of Uighers, Tibetans, Ui, Kazakhs, Inner Mongolians, East Turkestanis, Krzhgks, the FaolinGong practitioners, student activists for democracy, any activists for anything, labor advocates, mass forced moves, etc., etc., etc.
2) The CCP's direct military aid to the Sudanese goverment. They've sold planes before the UN Resolution in 2005 banning direct military aid to the brutal Sudanese gov't. Since then, they've sent PLA men to train the Sudanese pilots, in direct violation of the UN Resolution. These pilots used the Chinese jets to bomb civilian villages in Darfur. Also, they've sent Chinese army lorries (trucks) that have been mounted with Chinese anti-aircraft guns and used against civilians in Darfur. Know what happens when you shoot up a mud house with an anti-aircraft gun? This is well-documented.
3) CCP military aid to the Burmese Junta, who really showed their best face after Cyclone Nargis.
4) CCP military (including missile weapons technology) aid to North Korea.
5) CCP military aid to Iran (including missile weapons technology), Iranian military aid to terrorists organizations.
6) Secret submarine base in the Indian Ocean, upsetting the balance of naval power in the region.
7) Chinese military aid to Pakistan. Unfortunately, we do this too.
8) Chinese direct military aid to President Mugabe's brutal and undemocratic regime in Zimbabwe.
9) Nuclear silos in Tibet, threatening our close ally India and our allies in Central Asia. I like the opening line to this article, "I guess China's rise is peaceful until the day that it isn't."
10) The lack of environmental regulations or enforcement in China. They are fucking their environment to produce the goods that we buy. The earth's environment is a single system. Digging up the mountains in Tibet for Iron Ore has effects elsewhere. Chinese air pollution drifts to Alaska, Hawaii and California, bringing acid rain. Global warming. etc, etc, etc. In some ways this is improving, from the point of view of how bad it was before.
11) The lack of labor standards in China. Maybe this is getting better, in mainland China at least, but partially because of the pressure put on them from abroad.
12) The lack of public health and safety standards and enforcement for Chinese goods. Toxic toothpaste, dog food, lead paint for kids toys, generally shitty craftsmanship, etc.
13) The lack of a free press in China. Conventional wisdom tells us that liberalizing the economy and encouraging free trade should lead to more a more democratic state. This is ostensibly why Nixon and Reagan and everybody else got over their fear of Communists and gave China the MFN trade status. This hasn't happened. This only happens with a free press, encouraging accountability to the people, not just accountability to the Party. Really, we don't know what the fuck is going on in Tibet, East Turkistan, and Inner Mongolia, because there is no independent media there.
14) The fact that it seems that they lie about almost everything. They even faked a bunch of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. The supposed 54 children from the 54 minorities were actually ALL HAN CHINESE!!!
15) Systemic Racism against the minority groups. Hard to get a job in Lhasa if you are a Tibetan, because for most good jobs you have to pass the exams in Chinese language, and all the gov't jobs the tests are in Chinese language. This would be OK if they actually invested in schools throughout the minority areas to teach kids. I've been to rural Tibet: there aren't any schools, public water facilities or health clinics. The people there are dirt poor, looking a lot worse than the folks in the rural areas of India or Nepal. In the past, the monasteries were the repositories of education, traditional Tibetan medicine (which is actually effective against many ailments), but the PLA and Red Guard destroyed 6,000 of them.
16) Pledged reform before the Olympics never happened. The CCP pledged all kinds of reforms to the IOC in order to be awarded to the games. Most of these haven't happened, and the repression in Tibet has definitely gotten worse. In fact, most Tibetans in Tibetan areas are currently confined to their home villages. Travel in many areas in Tibet for Tibetans has basically been banned. And they definitely didn't get to go to the Olympic games.
17) Decline of US manufacturing sector due to Chinese competition.

So when will the people of China stand up and demand their freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble peacefully, freedom to actively participate in a democractic political process? It may never happen if we keep enriching their rulers, and continue to buoy their economy at the expense of ours.


This is where I'm at these days. What do you think?