If my last piece seemed like I was very much pro-Beijing and anit-Tibet, I offer to you this great essay written by Will over at Imagethief,which pretty much describes my overall opinion of the entire matter, presented in more words than I was willing to write at the moment.
Further Reading:
Tibet and the Trouble With Unassailable National Myths http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/archive/2008/03/19/the-trouble-with-china-s-communication-about-tibet.aspx">http://news.imagethief.com/blogs/china/archive/2008/03/19/the-trouble-with-china-s-communication-about-tibet.aspx
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
All too Eager to Judge
The current state-of-affairs in Tibet certainly has my attention. In all fairness, I do have somewhat of a vested interest in the area, so any big news out of the fourth largest country grabs me by the eyelids and earlobes. When peaceful protests started on March 14th, I immediately knew this was going to get worse, nay, a lot worse. If you live in China, you know that protesting without government approval is a big no-no. This is an unfortunate law that I don't particularly agree with, but rules are rules. If you intend to break the rules, then you must be prepared for the retaliation breaking the rules might bring. Beijing isn't known for holding back the heavy hand, and when the protests expanded and intensified, I expected two things: retaliated violence and a biased Western-ideological outcry. An outcry, although not wholly wrong, but misguided by an overall ignorance about the centuries old relationships and history from that region.
A recent article from The International Herold Tribune stated in it's headline "Tibet Policy Hurting China's Image Internationally." This is hardly a shock when given the whole six countries that they polled. Specifically, these countries were the United States, France, Britain, South Korea, Indonesia, and India. Although the poll is likely accurate for their regions, if those surveyed were further aware of their own biases that have been generated by the global economy and or media, and were also further educated on the history of Tibet, this poll would likely have a somewhat different outcome.
From the three Western countries surveyed, 60-80% were critical of Beijing's handling of Tibet. It's no secret that many Western countries want to hate China. Due to it's cheap labor and poor environmental practices, China is a fantastic place for companies to have their products made. This has made for some incredible profits for a lot of companies, meanwhile many blue collar jobs have been lost in once industry rich areas in the west. While China's economy is seen booming, once high paying western factory jobs have been replaced with low wage temporary line work, or jobs within the service sector. This has dismayed many powerful unions and organizations which now blame China for many of their misfortunes. This is similar to the hate that many union workers had when immigration started surging in western areas which meant, according to floor workers, less jobs for the people born there. With a lot of our products produced in China, this has given enormous amounts of soft power to the Chinese and a lot of pro-western groups oppose and fear it. The Asian countries surveyed had a lot more mixed results, particularly Indonesia and India where approximately 50% and 35% of people were critical about the handling of the situation. This is also not wholly surprising when these two areas have either less grievances, or a stronger desire to become allies with their Northern neighbour. When you're not already angry with someone, you're likely more willing to forgive them.
There are other things that help feed the negative image that many already had of China. If it's not completely apparent by now, the western media has a large distaste for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). How could a group of so called truth-seeking professionals respect any nation that doesn't allow complete and utter press freedom? Censorship is a dirty word for many in the western world, and directly effects a certain group in people in particular; i.e. the media. Furthering this point is how the media always need an enemy. Kim Jong Il has been pretty quiet overall lately, Iran's president is a much of a raving lunatic as Kim Jong but is struggling to maintain power, Osama is so yesterday, and Sadam Hussein has been hung. Who else is a threat, but the country that makes everything and wants to be a world player? Fear mongering has been the order of the day for quite sometime when it comes to President Hu and the rest of his party. The spin in this regard is way out of control. When was the last time a positive article was written about China? Especially one that made the front page?
Something that seems to go completely under the radar when it comes to Tibet is what the area was like before the CCP started re-enforcing their on-again, off-again rule in the region in 1951. Many have grown up with the slogan "Free Tibet" somewhere in their lives which always seemed to resonate, since freedom is something that the many east of the Pacific enjoy. This immediately conjures up images of a complete suppression of the Tibetan people. What many people don't realize is that before 1951, Tibetans were ruled by their own suppressive Theocratic system. This system had it's own army which had not only fought their own aggressive wars (usually religious based), but was also used to maintain it order and to prevent the escape of the well-to-do leadership's serfs (slaves). Furthermore, this Tibetan leadership had amounted their own significant wealth and land. These historical facts illustrate a portrait of Tibet that is much different than the ideological pacifist, non-materialists image that the Western world has imagined it to be. This ignorance of Tibet's pre-CCP history is a big cloud that if lifted, would give a completely different perspective on the region.
When there's violence in any region, it is a government's responsibility to quell that violence and restore order. Tibet, though disputed, is still regarded as Chinese territory and so the CCP reacted, excessively mind you, to regain control over the region. The west opposes how this was accomplished based on their own ideals, and their media-formed ideas of China and Tibet. Knowing more about yourself and about the whole situation wouldn't likely lead to an agreement with yourself and Beijing's position, however it may make you less critical about how they've handled it knowing what the Tibetan alternative would likely be.
Further Reading:
Friendly Feudalism - http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html
Tibet Policy Hurting China's Image - http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/18/europe/EU-GEN-International-Poll-Tibet.php
Tibet Protests Via Youtube - http://ca.youtube.com/results?search_query=Tibet+Protest&search_type=
A recent article from The International Herold Tribune stated in it's headline "Tibet Policy Hurting China's Image Internationally." This is hardly a shock when given the whole six countries that they polled. Specifically, these countries were the United States, France, Britain, South Korea, Indonesia, and India. Although the poll is likely accurate for their regions, if those surveyed were further aware of their own biases that have been generated by the global economy and or media, and were also further educated on the history of Tibet, this poll would likely have a somewhat different outcome.
From the three Western countries surveyed, 60-80% were critical of Beijing's handling of Tibet. It's no secret that many Western countries want to hate China. Due to it's cheap labor and poor environmental practices, China is a fantastic place for companies to have their products made. This has made for some incredible profits for a lot of companies, meanwhile many blue collar jobs have been lost in once industry rich areas in the west. While China's economy is seen booming, once high paying western factory jobs have been replaced with low wage temporary line work, or jobs within the service sector. This has dismayed many powerful unions and organizations which now blame China for many of their misfortunes. This is similar to the hate that many union workers had when immigration started surging in western areas which meant, according to floor workers, less jobs for the people born there. With a lot of our products produced in China, this has given enormous amounts of soft power to the Chinese and a lot of pro-western groups oppose and fear it. The Asian countries surveyed had a lot more mixed results, particularly Indonesia and India where approximately 50% and 35% of people were critical about the handling of the situation. This is also not wholly surprising when these two areas have either less grievances, or a stronger desire to become allies with their Northern neighbour. When you're not already angry with someone, you're likely more willing to forgive them.
There are other things that help feed the negative image that many already had of China. If it's not completely apparent by now, the western media has a large distaste for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). How could a group of so called truth-seeking professionals respect any nation that doesn't allow complete and utter press freedom? Censorship is a dirty word for many in the western world, and directly effects a certain group in people in particular; i.e. the media. Furthering this point is how the media always need an enemy. Kim Jong Il has been pretty quiet overall lately, Iran's president is a much of a raving lunatic as Kim Jong but is struggling to maintain power, Osama is so yesterday, and Sadam Hussein has been hung. Who else is a threat, but the country that makes everything and wants to be a world player? Fear mongering has been the order of the day for quite sometime when it comes to President Hu and the rest of his party. The spin in this regard is way out of control. When was the last time a positive article was written about China? Especially one that made the front page?
Something that seems to go completely under the radar when it comes to Tibet is what the area was like before the CCP started re-enforcing their on-again, off-again rule in the region in 1951. Many have grown up with the slogan "Free Tibet" somewhere in their lives which always seemed to resonate, since freedom is something that the many east of the Pacific enjoy. This immediately conjures up images of a complete suppression of the Tibetan people. What many people don't realize is that before 1951, Tibetans were ruled by their own suppressive Theocratic system. This system had it's own army which had not only fought their own aggressive wars (usually religious based), but was also used to maintain it order and to prevent the escape of the well-to-do leadership's serfs (slaves). Furthermore, this Tibetan leadership had amounted their own significant wealth and land. These historical facts illustrate a portrait of Tibet that is much different than the ideological pacifist, non-materialists image that the Western world has imagined it to be. This ignorance of Tibet's pre-CCP history is a big cloud that if lifted, would give a completely different perspective on the region.
When there's violence in any region, it is a government's responsibility to quell that violence and restore order. Tibet, though disputed, is still regarded as Chinese territory and so the CCP reacted, excessively mind you, to regain control over the region. The west opposes how this was accomplished based on their own ideals, and their media-formed ideas of China and Tibet. Knowing more about yourself and about the whole situation wouldn't likely lead to an agreement with yourself and Beijing's position, however it may make you less critical about how they've handled it knowing what the Tibetan alternative would likely be.
Further Reading:
Friendly Feudalism - http://www.michaelparenti.org/Tibet.html
Tibet Policy Hurting China's Image - http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/18/europe/EU-GEN-International-Poll-Tibet.php
Tibet Protests Via Youtube - http://ca.youtube.com/results?search_query=Tibet+Protest&search_type=
Monday, March 17, 2008
And so I begin anew.
Writing is something that generally comes naturally to me. Unfortunately, there are humps that I often face when it involves doing it during my free time. There are so many other things I could be doing while sitting in front of my computer other than writing, like IMing people, reading my RSS feeds, visual-media intake, or even Facebook™. Secondly, I often find that I can't keep my thoughts secured in my rusty and full-of-holes noggin. I forget my ideas too easily and thus never get a chance to explore them in writing. Ultimately though, I think I become so engrossed in my own comfort that I just don't feel like it (ie. lazy). It's a shame really, given how many times I've been complimented on things I have written, and how often I've been asked to delicately compose an email due to my penchant for written tactfulness.
To be as forthcoming as possible I'll admit here and now that although participating in the blog format was my inclination, the real reason behind this was the suggestion to keep a writers journal by the kind folks at Athabasca University. "Blogging Because I Should" will be my dump for ideas and thoughts on any range topics that I see happening in the world around me; all in an attempt to keep me writing and thinking. It is not meant to be a source for your entertainment (at least not entirely), and may dive into some politically, socially, or ethically sensitive matters. If you feel as though you need to leave a comment, you're more than welcome, but be warned that I won't actively be trying to stir debate. In short, this will be my idea lab, and not necessarily a list of my firm beliefs on any given topic. Let the games begin.
To be as forthcoming as possible I'll admit here and now that although participating in the blog format was my inclination, the real reason behind this was the suggestion to keep a writers journal by the kind folks at Athabasca University. "Blogging Because I Should" will be my dump for ideas and thoughts on any range topics that I see happening in the world around me; all in an attempt to keep me writing and thinking. It is not meant to be a source for your entertainment (at least not entirely), and may dive into some politically, socially, or ethically sensitive matters. If you feel as though you need to leave a comment, you're more than welcome, but be warned that I won't actively be trying to stir debate. In short, this will be my idea lab, and not necessarily a list of my firm beliefs on any given topic. Let the games begin.
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