Liberty's Blog

Lhasa citizens Rebels

The Tibetan capital of Lhasa demonstrates how they feel about being subjected to the Communist Red Chinese Rule.

Violence erupted Friday in a busy market area of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, as Buddhist monks and other ethnic Tibetans clashed with Chinese security forces. Witnesses say angry Tibetan crowds burned shops, cars, military vehicles and at least one tourist bus.

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The chaotic scene was the latest, and most violent, confrontation in a series of protests that began Monday and now represent a major challenge to the ruling Communist Party as it prepares to play host to the Olympics in August.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing warned American citizens on Friday not to travel to Lhasa. The embassy said it had "received firsthand reports from American citizens in the city who report gunfire and other indications of violence."

Xinhua, China's official news agency, issued a short statement in English confirming that shops in Lhasa had been set on fire and that other stores had closed because of the violence. But the protests otherwise received no coverage in the Chinese press.

The Dalai Lama released a statement on Friday calling on both sides to avoid violence and appealing to the Chinese leadership to "address the long simmering resentment of the Tibetan people through dialogue with the Tibetan people."

The situation in Lhasa represents a complicated predicament for the Communist Party, which is now holding its annual meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing. Party leaders are grappling with growing criticism of China's domestic rights record and its ties to Sudan, which the United States has accused of waging a genocidal campaign in its Darfur region.

Just as Beijing sees the Olympics as a chance to strut confidently on the world stage, so its opponents see the international publicity ahead of the Games as a chance to press deep grievances against the one-party state.

In the past, China has not hesitated to crush major protests in Tibet or jail disobedient monks. President Hu Jintao, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party, served as party boss in Tibet during a violent crackdown against protests in 1989. His support for the bloody suppression of unrest that year earned him the good will of Deng Xiaoping, then the paramount leader, and led directly to his elevation to the Politburo Standing Committee and eventually to China's top leadership posts.

Meanwhile the US is expected to continue to support the Communist Nation by providing capital as a "most favored nation" trading partner.

There is more bad news for those who try so hard to keep a positive spin on the Red Chinese. The air quality in Bejing will keep world record holder, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia from running the marathon this summer.

One of the world's top long distance runners has said he will not compete in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics because China's air pollution would pose an unacceptable risk to his health and future career.

In a major blow for the Chinese authorities, who have spent vast sums of money trying to tackle Beijing's pollution problem, the world record holder, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, said he still intended to participate in the 10,000 metres but could not run in the 26-mile, 385-yard (42.2km) marathon.

Gebrselassie, 34, who holds the world marathon record and two Olympic titles for the 10,000 metres, suffers from asthma. "The pollution in China is a threat to my health and it would be difficult for me to run 42km," he told Reuters. "But I am not pulling out of the Olympic event in Beijing altogether. I plan to participate in the 10,000-metre event."

Usually the Olympics tend to highlight the the best that a nation has to offer, This summers Olympics might be a real eye opener on just what the conditions are in Communist Red China.

Update at 18:00: At least 30 dead maybe a hundred,

The Dalai Lama's exiled Tibetan government in India said it had confirmed Chinese authorities killed at least 30 Tibetan protesters but added the toll could be as high as 100. There was no confirmation of the death toll from Chinese officials and the numbers could not be independently verified.

China maintains rigid control over Tibet, foreigners need special travel permits to get there and journalists rarely get access except under highly controlled circumstances.

There is no information coming directly out of Tibet because China won't let any western journalist in. The Internation Olympics Committee is begging folks not to boycott the Bejing Olympics. The Chinese are killing folks by the score, is not reason enough to deny the spoiled athletes their moment of glory. The entertainmaint media has taken enough of a beating with the writers strike.

Labels: China

posted by Liberty @ 12:23 PM