Jasmine sent Chinese leaders in Panic

Jasmine is a name of a white flower, known for its fragrances and flavor. It grows in the high altitude Tibetan plateau also. It is called Metok Kunda. Tibetan uses the jasmine as a part of incense and herbal medicine ingredients. But Jasmine grows in hot Arab nation like Tunisia too, where it is the national flower. Tunisian people recently rose against the long time dictatorship regime and won democracy, this came to be known as "Jasmine Revolution".

Because of this popular uprising, the word 'jasmine' has become taboo in China. Chinese authorities have blocked the word in Internet. People are forbidden to utter the word. It is said that the florists in Chinese cities are having problem because selling and purchase of Jasmine flower is also banned. When someone ordered for a jasmine tea, all eyes were on him. A 25-year old boy was arrested for having placed a white flower near a McDonnell restaurant. Anyone with anything to do with a white flower is arrested.

China is now the world's second largest economy, its military spending is said to be the highest, but the Chinese leaders panicking like a horde of frightened mice on hearing a name of a simple flower? What does this make of China's image?

How much the authority try to squelch the people's aspiration, some day it has to learn the hard truth that power doesn't always come from the barrel of a gun. It comes from people; it comes from a simple flower like jasmine.

Runggye Adak: A Message that China failed to read

Runggye Adak, a Tibetan nomad of Lithang area is still in Chinese prison serving his eight-year sentences issued by Chinese authorities for "provocation to subvert state power". His only crime was that on 1 August 2007, he is said to have said, 'If we cannot invite the Dalai Lama home, we will not have freedom of religion and happiness in Tibet", before a gathering at the annual horse festival in the region. He also called for the release of Panchen Lama and Tulku Tenzin Delek.
The Chinese security people immediately arrested him and his friends and put them behind the bar. Chinese media reported the incident as a "major political incident" and said that he was shouting for "Tibetan independence".
This is how most of the people's grievances end up in Tibet. China is too paranoid to properly address the issue and to understand what the Tibetans are really asking for. Any voice, irrespective of its contents from the Tibetans is seen as opposition to the regime and subversive. Therefore, China has never understood the Tibetans all these years. This is one of the major causes of Chinese policy failure in Tibet.
Runggye Adak is a simple Tibetan nomad. From his statement it is very clear what the Tibetans are looking for "freedom of religion and happiness". As China has denied the Tibetans of these two necessities throughout its brutal rule, people like Runggye Adak are inclined to believe that coming of Dalai Lama to Tibet would bring religious freedom and happiness.
In his statement during the interrogation, he said that he wants Dalai Lama to come to Tibet so that he can speak out his grievances. As simple as this, this shows the extent of repressed emotion and psychology of the people. Tibetans need to be heard and cared. If the Chinese leadership is serious about peace and stability in the region, they should reexamine their policy and listen and respect the voice of people like Runggye Adak seriously. One good thing that the leadership could do now is to release him and ask for his forgiveness.

http://vimeo.com/13266779

This is how China rules Tibet

Chinese government in the name of development has continued mining and baring the Tibetan mountains. Minerals extracted were transported to the mainland. Any protest against these rampant mining are brutally suppressed. Last November, when the Tibetans in Shethongmon county of Shigatse protested against the mining project in the region, they were brutally mishandled and arrested.


The region was filled with Chinese armed personal and trucks. Is this how the Chinese authority thinks could bring peace and stability in the region? Its high time the communist leaders learn something from what is going on in Tunisia and Egypt!!



A Chinese security man with an electric baton intimidating the Tibetan protestors.

http://www.tibet.net/en/index.php?id=2129.&articletype=flash&rmenuid=morenews&s&tab=1#TabbedPanels1

China wants to double Tibet tourism by 2015

Chinese state media has on 13 January said that the government is eyeing for 15 million visitors a year to Tibet by 2015. The government estimate that it will more than double the income from tourism by around 16 billion Yuan ($2.42 billion) a year thereby creating more than 300,000 jobs. Xinhua further goes onto claim that Tibet's economy has grown more quickly than the rest of China. This was attributed to the completion of a railway line to the Tibetan capital Lhasa, and large mining projects.

Chinese government says it is trying to bring development to a poor and backward region, including new transport links in the form of roads, railways and airports. And the government said that it wanted, "all the people of Tibet to get rich from tourism."

Above portrayal and the citation looks grand and encouraging, but in reality it is nothing more than the communist leadership's another conspiracy to mislead the world into believing that all is well in Tibet and the government is doing its best to boost Tibetan economy and livelihood. China had persistently claimed that Tibetans in Tibet are happy and contended with the development Chinese has brought in, and that it is only a few separatists who are instigating trouble in the region.

Before we take in the Chinese announcement seriously, we need to carefully brood over what they really meant by development in Tibet. If the Chinese leaders are serious about promoting tourism and uplifting the Tibetan economy, it needs to address the grievances of the Tibetans in the region first. Are the Tibetan really meant to benefit from the plan; who will get these 300,000 jobs?

Recent trend in Tibet is that Tibetan tour guides and operators are slowly being displaced by the new arrivals from China. Government does not want Tibetan guides and tour operators who are conversant about Tibetan history and culture and are willing to tell the world about what communism has done to Tibet.

In order to curb this problem and to create jobs for the Chinese migrants, the Chinese government introduced a system in which all the tour guides and operators are required to get license. To acquire the license, applicants are screened and are required to appear for written test and interview. Now, the government has come up with a book on Tibet based on Chinese interpretation of Tibetan history. It is written in Chinese language. Applicants are required to study this book and answer accordingly. This written test and interview is also conducted in Chinese language. Is this the way how the communist government plans to benefit the Tibetans?

Many young Tibetans gave up because they don't want to parrot the Chinese version of Tibetan history, many don't read and write Chinese, and those who read and write Chinese could not compete with Chinese migrants whose mother tongue is Chinese. With these kinds of ingenious but cruel policies the communist government has been marginalizing the Tibetans and encouraging Han Chinese migration. So, all these talks about jobs doesn't concern the Tibetans, the communist government already has in mind for whom the jobs are for.

Since March 2008 uprising, the Tibetans have been put under strict surveillance and only guided tours under strict screenings have been allowed. The government has still not recovered from the 2008 paranoia, Tibetans are still being viewed with suspicions and arrested arbitrarily. Lately, Tibetan intellectuals and artists have been targeted and many are languishing in prisons. Common people have been intimidated and warned against contacting or talking with foreigners. One of my foreign friends who had visited Tibet several times said that he was gripped with fear and surprise when a cheerful Tibetan vendor with whom he has befriended during his earlier visits has become reserved and refused to recognize him last year.

Communist government has unleashed an atmosphere of fear and terror on the Tibetan plateau. There are more security personals and army in the street than civilian folks. Is the communist government really thinking of welcoming 15 millions visitors? If the communist government is confident about this, then it means that in these intervening years, they have successfully and brutally tamed the Tibetans to turn the Tibetan plateau into the first and the largest living human and cultural zoo for the world to see.

Is this what the communist government meant by "making people of Tibet rich from tourism."?

Marginalizing the Tibetans, encouraging Han Chinese migration into Tibet, compulsory imposition of Chinese language in schools and workplaces, exploitation of Tibetan natural resources, making Tibetan culture a showpiece, sinocizing Tibetan way of life, if these are what Chinese meant by developments, Tibetans don't want these developments.

Next time, Beijing plan about development activity in Tibet, they must consult the Tibetans in the region and should seriously and sincerely think about benefiting the Tibetans and their overall livelihood.

Hu Jinato in US

Hu Jintao during his interview in United States pretended he didn't hear properly when asked about human rights issue in China. He was not bluffing, actually the word 'human rights' is not in his vocabulary. So, he didn't understand what Obama was talking about. Funny!!

Any how, when asked for the second time, Hu dodged the question on human rights by implying that China is big and has a large population and it is developing. Now, if the size and the population is obstacle, why doesn't China give Tibet, Uigyur, Inner Mongolia and other minorities their rightful freedom, and let them live in peace.

Chinese communist leaders' obstinate greed to rule China indefinitely has made the colonization of Tibet and others necessary to justify its iron rule. Chinese people are ingeniously used by the communist leaders by inciting patriotism to divert the people's attention from more pressing issues. Therefore, the Chinese people are always at the mercy of communist propaganda.

President Obama should be commended for his clear message to the Chinese leader on human rights issue and for urging Hu to talk with Dalai Lama's representative to resolve Tibet issue. He talked about American concept of universality of human rights and freedom, thus making a point that US will not compromise on human rights issue.

With this visit to US, the land of freedom and justice, let us hope the Chinese leader will give her people their share of universal rights. This Hu Jintao can do before he retires from the helm of authoritative power next year. With continued suppression of Chinese and the people of minority communities and deprivation of their human rights, Hu Jintao will only be reserving his seat in the list of oppressors and dictators, who are scorned as the enemies of the civilization in human history. President Hu still has time to choose whether he wants to be remembered as an oppressor or a liberator in the world history

China's Peace Prize - Joke of the Year 2010

Chinese communist leadership in their desperate attempt to play down the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo and to snub the Norway's century old Nobel Peace Prize tradition, constituted their own version 'Confucius Peace Prize' in three weeks time in great frenzy.

The prize was conferred to Mr. Lien Chan, former vice president of Taiwan for his service in bridging peace between Taiwan striate and the mainland. Among the nominees were Bill gates, Nobel Laureates like Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, and the Chinese version of Tibetan Panchen Lama.

In a great rush to hijack the limelight from Oslo, the ceremony was done a day before the Norway's Noble day. But to the dismay of the leadership and its cohorts, Mr. Lien Chan did not appear to receive the Prize. According to the media report, Lien Chan said that he was not aware of such Prize and has no plan to visit Beijing to receive any Prize. When their staged performance failed to give the desired effect, the leadership ordered blackout of CNN and BBC TV channels during Oslo's Nobel ceremony.

One of my Chinese friends was so shocked and exclaimed, "This is the biggest political joke of the year! How can they stoop so low! I beg the communist leadership not to make fool of Chinese civilization."

With the constitution of this Prize, communist leadership has shown what Peace and Human rights actually mean in China. The prize is blasphemy not only to the great philosopher Confucius; it is insult to all the eight nominees of the prize. How long will China continue like this? By locking Liu Xiaobo in prison, China has opened the heart of all for Liu Xiaobo. You can lock the people in prison but not their mind. And revolution starts in mind.

What His Holiness Said

Following is what His Holiness the Dalai Lama said during His November visit to Japan. [6th - 16th November 2010]

To a congregation of Japanese Monks
We are all free to make our choice. It is not necessary to become a monk to become a good practitioner. But if you decide to become a monk and take the required vows, then you must sincerely live and practice as defined in the vows. Putting on monk's robe without actually practicing is not going to help you, and the society and the Buddha Dharma.

On Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities will live throughout the history to remind the humanity of the destructive nature of nuclear weapons and wars. May these two cities be the first and the last places to witness the weapons of mass destruction.

On Disarmament
When we talk of disarmament; we tend to focus on external factors only. While external disarmament is necessary, real disarmament should start from internal disarmament. We should first disarm ourselves from hatred and anger in our heart, and try to find peace within ourselves, only then the external disarmament will work.

To Japanese Youngsters
Young Japanese should know that they are in a good position to learn, acquire knowledge and contribute to the society. Unfortunately, we hear many are depressed and suicide case is high. You need to look at life from a broader perspective. There are many who are placed in a less unfortunate state, thinking only about yourself and Japan may be suffocating. So go out and see what you can do, the world is waiting for you. But in order to contribute meaningfully, you should learn English.

On his English
My English is broken English, but even this broken English is very useful. It enables me to communicate with many people.

On the problems in this World
The world and the governments belong to people. Problem comes when some leaders thinks the other way round.