Tibet, Beijing and the Occident: An ‘Incredible Mess’
March 28th, 2008 by WILLIAM KERN
Is there any hope at all that the West will do more than pay lip service to the plight of the downtrodden Tibetan people? Le Figaro’s Beijing correspondent Mével writes, “China has erred on Tibet. The West deluded itself about China - and the Tibetans are likely to pay dearly if their illusions lead them to expect more than dust in the eyes [a show of support] from the democracies.”
Analysis by Mével
Translated By Sandrine Ageorges
March 26, 2008
France - Le Figaro - Original Article (French)
The powerful Communist Party machine certainly didn’t foresee this. Beijing wants to make the Games a showcase for its brilliant success. But at the start of this Olympic season, propaganda needs have forced a drawing of the curtain. Chinese television cut off a live broadcast of ceremonies in Olympia, Greece [the lighting of the Olympic torch WATCH ], depriving the images to hundreds of millions of spectators and signaling that support for the Games is far from unanimous.
The repression of the Tibetan revolt explains the protest and the censorship. And this incident won’t be the last. The journey of the Olympic torch was to be a triumphant march toward the opening of the Games on August 8th in Beijing. It is more likely to be an odyssey mounted under extreme police protection in London (on April 9th), San Francisco and Nagano. There are unlikely to be any boos on the route through China, but in Lhasa on June 21st, voices will be constrained.
The Olympic ideal is a Spanish hostel. [A place where people of different cultures mix]. The peculiar aspect of this crisis is that all sides feel betrayed. Three misunderstandings crystallize this incredible mess. China has erred on Tibet. The West deluded itself about China. And finally, the Tibetans are likely to pay dearly if their illusions lead them to expect much more than dust in the eyes [a show of support] from the democracies.
The greatest fault is that of Beijing. China has never fully-controlled the Himalayan kingdom. Until these last few weeks, Hu Jintao’s team sincerely believed that it had found the panacea: to win the hearts of the Tibetans, it was enough to invest, bring in the railway to improve the standard of living and ignore the Dalai-Lama until he disappears. With the approach of the Games, Chinese security was concerned about foreign protesters and dissidents from Beijing, but not the monasteries perched at an altitude of 4,000 meters [13,000 feet].
In Lhasa revolt has ripped this illusion. …
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated foreign press coverage of the implications of the Tibet crisis on the U.S. and the West.
This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 4:45 am and is filed under Cartoons, Communism, Tyranny, Political Philosophy, Human Rights, Buddhism, Newspapers, Civil Liberties, France, Foreign Affairs, China, Minorities, Cartoon Commentary, Ideologies, Atheists, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
