Much has been made of the rain the Tibetan protesters have managed to shower on the Olympic torch parade in London, Paris and San Francisco. In terms of world publicity garnered, the protesters can claim an asymmetrical victory. Clearly, the western media were embedded in their midst and faithfully reported on the "facts" as laddled by the Tibetan expatriate camp.
I have offered a contrarian view of the riot in Lhasa last month. Below is a compilation of various views that should provide a more balanced view of the Tibetan protest, if those in the media are interested in some modicum of fairness in their reporting.
Retired Professor Ivy Lee took a bus from the Sacramento area to watch the parade in San Francisco. Read about her reflections of the event.
Attorney Ed Liu has unleashed a torrent of counterpoints at his blog.
Architect and author Bevin Chu has written a number of thought provoking think pieces on Tibet, Tibet 2 and Tibet 3.
Another treasure trove of articles on various views of Tibet can be found at this content rich site.
A sample of the response by the Chinese students in Australia objecting to the bias reporting of the west can be found on video.
F. William Engdahl is a Research Associate of the Center for Research on Globalization. He is one of many to describe the historical complicity of UK and then the CIA in stirring unrest in Tibet in a recent review accompanied by impressive list of references.
One basic review of the history of Tibet referenced by Engdahl and widely read is written by Michael Parenti, The Tibetan Myth, most recently updated in January 2007. Dr. Parenti, (PhD from Yale) is an award winning author and lecturer. In 2007 he was awarded a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from U.S. Representative Barbara Lee.
Another review of the history of Tibet has been written by Foster Stockwell, son of missionaries who lived in China for many years.
As I noted in my book rerview of Orville Schell's Virtual Tibet, there are a lot of information about Tibet that has been glamourized out of existence in the minds of Hollywood.
I do not consider myself as an expert on Tibet, but even back in 1997 I could sense something amiss in the idealized views of Tibet that did not jive with reality. This unfortunately has continued to this day.
Any of you of like mind, please help spread the word. Add your comments and other useful links below and send this on to your contacts.
Showing posts with label Tibet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tibet. Show all posts
Monday, April 14, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Dalai Lama, Tibet and China
I just came back from Asia where eyewitnesses gave a different view of the matter than that of the West. First of all, the violence was initiated by the thugs in Lhasa. Secondly, the violence got out of hand because the riot police did not respond right away but melted away for the first 24 to 48 hours. Thirdly, since Dalai Lama is publicly opposed to violence, this suggests that he is not in control of his younger followers. From Beijing's point of view, having a dialogue with Dalai Lama may not contribute to a peaceful resolution because of their perception that he lacks sway over his followers.
This summary was what I gathered from the reports written in Chinese and found in Hong Kong such as the weekly, Yazhou Zhoukan, and in part confirmed by the International Herald Tribune.
I personally believe a dialogue between Dalai Lama and Beijing would be useful but feared such a dialogue will fall far short of expectations of the West. America's view of the world, particularly of Asia, fits the derisive Chinese proverb of the frog in the bottom of well, i.e., very limited vision of the real world.
What the thugs did in Lhasa would not have been tolerated had the actions taken place in Los Angelese, Detroit or New York. But because it took place in Tibet, the American sense of right and wrong has once again been turned on its head.
This summary was what I gathered from the reports written in Chinese and found in Hong Kong such as the weekly, Yazhou Zhoukan, and in part confirmed by the International Herald Tribune.
I personally believe a dialogue between Dalai Lama and Beijing would be useful but feared such a dialogue will fall far short of expectations of the West. America's view of the world, particularly of Asia, fits the derisive Chinese proverb of the frog in the bottom of well, i.e., very limited vision of the real world.
What the thugs did in Lhasa would not have been tolerated had the actions taken place in Los Angelese, Detroit or New York. But because it took place in Tibet, the American sense of right and wrong has once again been turned on its head.
Tuesday, August 8, 2000
Book review: Virtual Tibet by Orville Schell
In a way, what Jonathan Spence did with The Chan’s Great Continent, Orville Schell has done with Virtual Tibet. Both study how the West glamorizes, idealizes, disparages, and criticizes China, nearly always from a narrow western frame of reference, blinded by its own bias and ignorance. Chan’s is a scholarly compilation of how the West saw China throughout history. Schell deals with how the West sees Tibet in a less scholarly but more personal way. Schell interweaves West’s early contacts with Tibet with his foray into the Hollywood fascination with and idealization of Tibet.
Virtual Tibet is anecdotal and fun to read. In walking the impartial line of a journalist, Schell is careful to recount his observations without the intermixing of his opinions. However, his droll descriptions never cease to entertain. For instance, he voiced nary a nasty comment on the carrying-on of the kung-fu actor, Steven Seagal and his fixation with Dalai Lama. Still, after reading his encounter with Seagal, the reader comes away with a new appreciation of what a Hollywood megalomanic lout is all about.
From Schell’s book I learned that the word “pundit” came from the Anglicization of “pandit,” a Hindi term. Pandit or pundit meaning a person of knowledge was applied to native Indians trained by the British to spy in Tibet starting from the turn of the 19th century. It seemed that for decades, the voracious British colonial government coveted Tibet and needed detailed maps of the region. Official surveys headed by white explorers were out of the question and the solution was to resort to employing Indian nationals that could sneak into Tibet. Before reading this book, I often wondered why I hold a vague disdain for pundits. Now I know.
By the time Lost Horizon was written in 1933 and introduced the concept of Shangri-La, a hidden paradise, Tibet had already been established as the exotic destination of choice for overactive adventurers and farout mystics. Tibetan monks were attributed with awesome magical powers including ability to fly, read people’s minds, perform miraculous cures and endure subzero temperatures. According to Schell, “the Tibet of filth, ferocity, arcane religious practices, grinding poverty, barren wastes, inhospitable weather, serfdom, disease and theocratic absolutism vanished from public consciousness.”
“Shangri-La is a distillation of a borrowed piece of Tibetan mythology overlaid with a Western dream of dreams that was two centuries in the making.” Look past the Hollywood gloss on the modern Tibet of the West, and one concludes that Schell’s observation still holds.
Reviews in brief
A Victor’s Reflections and other Tales for China’s Timeless Wisdom for Leaders by Michael C. Tang is an absolute joy to read and own. The author has managed to reduce classic stories of China’s sages, military strategists, wise rulers, clever advisors and child prodigies into highly readable and entertaining short stories. When he tries to draw lessons from these classics to modern day situations, he was less successful. But, if your grandchildren ever ask you to explain “what is Chinese culture,” you will want to read this book first. Better yet, give this book to your grandchildren.
I had been looking forward to reading The Yamato Dynasty by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave ever since I saw the book in Asia and then found out that the publication in the West was months later. This book claims to contain the secret history of Japan’s imperial family, the billions of gold stashed away and the secret deals made with General Douglas MacArthur after World War II. Unfortunately I found the book disorganized, rambling and not well written, falling short of the reputation the authors earned from their previous efforts. However, this book is a valuable reference that goes a long way to explaining the complicity of the U.S. government in overlooking war crimes committed by Japan.
Virtual Tibet is anecdotal and fun to read. In walking the impartial line of a journalist, Schell is careful to recount his observations without the intermixing of his opinions. However, his droll descriptions never cease to entertain. For instance, he voiced nary a nasty comment on the carrying-on of the kung-fu actor, Steven Seagal and his fixation with Dalai Lama. Still, after reading his encounter with Seagal, the reader comes away with a new appreciation of what a Hollywood megalomanic lout is all about.
From Schell’s book I learned that the word “pundit” came from the Anglicization of “pandit,” a Hindi term. Pandit or pundit meaning a person of knowledge was applied to native Indians trained by the British to spy in Tibet starting from the turn of the 19th century. It seemed that for decades, the voracious British colonial government coveted Tibet and needed detailed maps of the region. Official surveys headed by white explorers were out of the question and the solution was to resort to employing Indian nationals that could sneak into Tibet. Before reading this book, I often wondered why I hold a vague disdain for pundits. Now I know.
By the time Lost Horizon was written in 1933 and introduced the concept of Shangri-La, a hidden paradise, Tibet had already been established as the exotic destination of choice for overactive adventurers and farout mystics. Tibetan monks were attributed with awesome magical powers including ability to fly, read people’s minds, perform miraculous cures and endure subzero temperatures. According to Schell, “the Tibet of filth, ferocity, arcane religious practices, grinding poverty, barren wastes, inhospitable weather, serfdom, disease and theocratic absolutism vanished from public consciousness.”
“Shangri-La is a distillation of a borrowed piece of Tibetan mythology overlaid with a Western dream of dreams that was two centuries in the making.” Look past the Hollywood gloss on the modern Tibet of the West, and one concludes that Schell’s observation still holds.
Reviews in brief
A Victor’s Reflections and other Tales for China’s Timeless Wisdom for Leaders by Michael C. Tang is an absolute joy to read and own. The author has managed to reduce classic stories of China’s sages, military strategists, wise rulers, clever advisors and child prodigies into highly readable and entertaining short stories. When he tries to draw lessons from these classics to modern day situations, he was less successful. But, if your grandchildren ever ask you to explain “what is Chinese culture,” you will want to read this book first. Better yet, give this book to your grandchildren.
I had been looking forward to reading The Yamato Dynasty by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave ever since I saw the book in Asia and then found out that the publication in the West was months later. This book claims to contain the secret history of Japan’s imperial family, the billions of gold stashed away and the secret deals made with General Douglas MacArthur after World War II. Unfortunately I found the book disorganized, rambling and not well written, falling short of the reputation the authors earned from their previous efforts. However, this book is a valuable reference that goes a long way to explaining the complicity of the U.S. government in overlooking war crimes committed by Japan.
Sunday, February 23, 1997
A comment on Tibet
The media's description of the Tibet issue is like matching up the color on only one side of a Rubik's cube, i.e., easy to do, but no guarantee that the other sides of the cube are also falling neatly into place.
The one-sided nature of today's coverage of Tibet is because we are only hearing the views of the Dalai Lama and his followers. They have been most effective in their public relations campaign, but there are other points of view that the American public needs to know about and ponder.
For example, Mike Dorgan's article on Tibet (Mercury News, 2/23/97) contains this statement: "Tibet enjoyed independence for several decades before China's invasion in 1949." This is clearly the view from the Dalai Lama's camp but is contrary to the official U.S. government position at the time. In a film made in 1944 by Frank Capra for the U.S. government, "The Battle of China," Tibet was clearly shown to be part of China. Only after the Chinese communists took control of China did the U.S. position shift.
There are many sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is the leader of only one, albeit a major sect. To assume that the Dalai Lama speaks for all Tibetan Buddhists is the same as assuming that the Pope speaks for all Christians.
Hollywood is reputed to be a liberal establishment. Liberals traditionally insist on the separation of church and state. Yet in the case of the Dalai Lama, Hollywood is quite willing to see His Holiness as the secular ruler of Tibet. The same people would be deeply offended if anyone were to accuse them of idolizing a spiritual leader, say Billy Graham, as the leader of America. Since Hollywood's view of the Dalai Lama is identical to that of Senator Jesse Helms, they need to either reexamine their alleged liberalism or their fixation of Tibet.
The problem is, of course, that there hasn't been enough impartial eye witnesses to report from Tibet. While not exactly impartial, Andrew Cockburn, whose sympathies lie obviously with the Dalai Lama, reported on a rather extensive recent visit he made to Tibet in the March 1997 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.
Partiality aside, Cockburn makes some observations that are not generally known by just reading from the popular media. He points out that the exiled Tibetans are not above exaggeration when they allege conditions inside today's Tibet. He observes that the secular life of ordinary Tibetans has improved considerably thanks to sizeable infrastructure investments made by the Beijing government in Tibet. He also mentions that life for the common people were quite brutal under the old ruling class, now largely the Tibetan exiles.
Most interesting is the revelation by Cockburn that negotiations between the Dalai Lama and the Beijing government under Deng Xiaoping in 1980 broke down because of a fundamental difference. The parties could not agree on the territory that constitutes Tibet. The Dalai Lama demanded jurisdiction over all parts of China where Tibetans reside. This would have included significant Tibetan populations living in neighboring Qinghai province. The Chinese, of course, would not agree.
I respectfully suggest that we need to see all sides of the complex Tibetan question and not use Tibet as another reason to demonize China.
The one-sided nature of today's coverage of Tibet is because we are only hearing the views of the Dalai Lama and his followers. They have been most effective in their public relations campaign, but there are other points of view that the American public needs to know about and ponder.
For example, Mike Dorgan's article on Tibet (Mercury News, 2/23/97) contains this statement: "Tibet enjoyed independence for several decades before China's invasion in 1949." This is clearly the view from the Dalai Lama's camp but is contrary to the official U.S. government position at the time. In a film made in 1944 by Frank Capra for the U.S. government, "The Battle of China," Tibet was clearly shown to be part of China. Only after the Chinese communists took control of China did the U.S. position shift.
There are many sects of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is the leader of only one, albeit a major sect. To assume that the Dalai Lama speaks for all Tibetan Buddhists is the same as assuming that the Pope speaks for all Christians.
Hollywood is reputed to be a liberal establishment. Liberals traditionally insist on the separation of church and state. Yet in the case of the Dalai Lama, Hollywood is quite willing to see His Holiness as the secular ruler of Tibet. The same people would be deeply offended if anyone were to accuse them of idolizing a spiritual leader, say Billy Graham, as the leader of America. Since Hollywood's view of the Dalai Lama is identical to that of Senator Jesse Helms, they need to either reexamine their alleged liberalism or their fixation of Tibet.
The problem is, of course, that there hasn't been enough impartial eye witnesses to report from Tibet. While not exactly impartial, Andrew Cockburn, whose sympathies lie obviously with the Dalai Lama, reported on a rather extensive recent visit he made to Tibet in the March 1997 issue of Condé Nast Traveler.
Partiality aside, Cockburn makes some observations that are not generally known by just reading from the popular media. He points out that the exiled Tibetans are not above exaggeration when they allege conditions inside today's Tibet. He observes that the secular life of ordinary Tibetans has improved considerably thanks to sizeable infrastructure investments made by the Beijing government in Tibet. He also mentions that life for the common people were quite brutal under the old ruling class, now largely the Tibetan exiles.
Most interesting is the revelation by Cockburn that negotiations between the Dalai Lama and the Beijing government under Deng Xiaoping in 1980 broke down because of a fundamental difference. The parties could not agree on the territory that constitutes Tibet. The Dalai Lama demanded jurisdiction over all parts of China where Tibetans reside. This would have included significant Tibetan populations living in neighboring Qinghai province. The Chinese, of course, would not agree.
I respectfully suggest that we need to see all sides of the complex Tibetan question and not use Tibet as another reason to demonize China.
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