For supposed peace-loving individuals seeking inner harmony with nature, Buddhist monks seem to be doing a lot of rioting. Violent clashes between ethnic Tibetan protestors and Chinese authorities over the past week have highlighted simmering tensions in Chinese domestic politics. But it is precisely that: domestic politics.
While an unconfirmed number of protestors have died as a result of the Chinese crackdown, international media coverage generally overlooks the acts of violence carried out by the protestors. This is no passive campaign of civil disobedience, but rather a full scale urban riot led by Buddhist monks only too willing to use violence as a means to further their agenda.
What began as a peaceful protest to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule has been hijacked by rowdy monks, and other Tibetan radicals. Protestors have targeted police stations and other government offices in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, symbols of Chinese authority. However, less appetizing is violence targeted toward the Han Chinese population in the capital, who are specifically singled out by the ethnic Tibetan protestors. As Chinese-owned businesses are looted and set ablaze, individuals are physically attacked. On the Internet, there is a video of an innocent bicyclist thrown to the ground, and then subsequently stoned by a mob of goons. These attacks are on Han Chinese, but also the predominantly Muslim Hui people, and can only be labeled as xenophobic, ethnically-based hate crimes.
While the Dalai Lama has distanced himself from the violent rioter conduct, he’s rejected calls to publicly ask the protestors to stop. The declared objective of the radical protestors is outright independence. While some may be inclined to support the independence movements of distinctive ethnic minority populations, anyone with a basic understanding of China will understand why the central government cannot allow this.
China is not made up of one people. Some 56 distinct ethnicities make up the over 1.3 billion people that inhabit the mainland, and for the sake of its national integrity, China cannot carve out its territory. Another point of grievance is the Chinese government’s policy to encourage the migration of the Han Chinese into Tibet. The Dalai Lama claims this to be “cultural genocide.” This type of xenophobic rhetoric might be expected from the likes of Lou Dobbs, but this does not bode well when a supposedly enlightened figure entertains the notion of cultural contamination due to an influx of immigration.
The protestors are undoubtedly playing into the spotlight of the international media, hoping to embarrass the Chinese government ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hollywood celebrities such as Richard Gere make the rounds on CNN, attempting to capitalize on the deaths caused by agitators and calling for the boycott of the Olympic Games.
It would be foolish and immoral to support the Chinese government’s crackdown on protestors. But in light of the unwillingness of the mainstream media to explore the intricacies of the issues, a fair portrayal of such counter arguments is absolutely necessary.
