Tibet Tibet

If you are interested in the China/Tibet issue that has been reignited in the news, take some time to read this article from The Atlantic. It's from 1999, and it is one of the most even handed accounts of Sino-Tibetan relations I have read. I was very saddened but a little excited by recent events, thinking that now is the time to pressure China on this issue. Maybe something could finally happen to free Tibet. But after reading this, I realize that maybe that is a far too simplistic hope.

Below is an excerpt from the final portion of the article:

...Both men were eager to speak with an American, and they had a great deal of faith in America's ability to help solve the Tibet question. That saddened me as well. I wanted to tell them that in America there are many FREE TIBET bumper stickers, but they sit next to license plates that often bear the names of forgotten tribes who succumbed to the same forces of expansion and modernization now threatening Tibet....

...It was dark, and I could barely make out his face, but I could see there were tears in his eyes. There was no more politically sensitive place in Tibet; virtually every major protest had happened in front of the Jokhang, and I knew it was unwise to speak so openly here. He glanced over his shoulder and continued.
"You need to tell the people of America what it's like here," he said. "You need to tell them what needs to be done." I nodded and shook his hand, but I realized I had no idea what I... would recommend, or what the people of America could do. Perhaps we could build casinos.