The Tibet Fantasy

April 7th, 2008 at 09:25 Björn Hallberg

Here we go again. Charley Reese articulates perfectly why Tibet is such a non-issue that is being exaggerated to frightening and suspicious proportions.

Coffee sippers who think it might be a good idea to free Tibet from China are about 58 years too late. China is not going to free Tibet, and Western encouragement of Tibetan resistance will only get people killed needlessly.

Tibet was part of China for centuries. In 1913, when China seemed to be falling apart, the British Empire encouraged Tibet to declare its independence. It did, and that lasted until 1950, when, at the end of the Chinese civil war, China invaded and reclaimed the area. By then, the impotent British Empire was in no position to help anyone even if it had been so inclined. America chose to do nothing.

Americans in particular should keep in mind that we are currently engaged in mismanaging two occupations of two countries that we illegally invaded.

And one could add that it would be nice if those two occupations garnered the same sort of outspoken disapproval worldwide. As would Israel’s occupation, or indeed very existence. One must also consider possible ulterior motives for the nations that now protest but were also once part of the foreign oppression of China. Old habits die hard. While admittedly a heavy-handed response by Chinese authorities, we know very little of the surrounding circumstances. China has been accused of using agents provocateurs, but the opposite is just as likely. There are major powers, including neighboring India, holding a serious grudge.

I was also amused by the condemnation and massive media coverage of Hu Jia, suddenly recalling that we have our own prisoners of conscience right here in liberal Europe. They are derisively called “Holocaust deniers” and coincidentally, even the lawyer of such a “Holocaust denier” can be sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Seems just as bogus to me.

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