Tibet (8)

I read both Nicholas Kristof's Thursday column and Sunday column on Tibet. He is probably as close as one can get for an American journalist that actually goes out to Tibet and try to understand the situation. However, his reporting leaves a lot to be desired, even not to tell the complete truth but for the sake of his readers' sanity.

Anyway, I find this comment highly offensive:

#2. May 15th, 2008 12:46 am

I could not help but think, maybe the recent earthquake in China is nothing else but karma for the brutal way China has and continues to treat Tibet.

Maybe, for once godless China ought to at least stop and listen to the laws of karma. The days of Mao and the gang of four is way are long over, China should open its eyes and free Tibet. It’s also doubtful if it’s going to be a superpower, what with all the substandard Walmart products it produces; besides, maybe what happened is nature’s way of saying 1 billion plus Chinese in this world are more than enough.

— Posted by M del Rosario

That is some cold-blooded karma!

My response to that piece of crap probably is not going to show up any time soon. So I repeat myself here:

I am a Chinese and I am an atheist. I have always respected and always will respect other people and their religions. But that commenter and his/her cold-blooded karma can go to hell as much as I care.

笔记

在医院这样的环境里工作有一点特别，就是经常看到受病痛磨难的人。到不是我有幸灾乐祸的心理，而是这样的情形时常能够让人意识到自己的处境的优越，鼓励人尽心尽力。

有时候为人做一点小事所得到的回报远大于所付出的努力。今天就有一位在医院八楼住院的病人求助，希望能够在他自己病房里面无线上网。估计又是一位癌症患者，身体免疫系统遭受化疗严重破坏，护士说他不能出自己的病房，否则可能意外感染。我把医院客人专用的无线局域网接到病人的病房门外。护士回电子邮件说病人高兴的不可言喻。

有时候却也会一点小事没有做好而招来同事的不满。有一天一位发了一单“紧急问题”，但是单子上没有任何地点、设备的细节，只是说问题紧急。给用户的电话也没有人接，留言也没有回应。几天之后我才又想起这个单子，回送给直接与用户打交道的那组，得到的回答是我把这个单子耽搁了太长时间，她无法去找所需要的细节了。医院里面网络上的事情有缓急轻重之分，然而不提供任何细节的问题让人解决起来增加困难的程度，甚至于让人无从下手，这应该是每个人都明白的道理，轮不到我来解释。

昨天从 NPR 广播里听到四川地震的消息，好生担心。不光是有朋友在那边，就只死伤人数过万这一条就使人震惊。而且死伤的数字随这通讯于交通的逐渐恢复只会继续增加。

这段时间广播里面一直听到缅甸的军方政府拒绝接受西方的援助。我能明白这些人担心什么，却替那受灾的几十万百姓不平，真正受这种政策所害的只有他们。所幸中国已经不再是那种闭关锁国的状态了，至少中国政府公开表示欢迎援助，这与 76 年唐山地震之后的情形大不相同。

"Nationalism"

Natasha Yefimov of the New York Times selected some comments on Nicholas Kristof's blog entry «Grace Wang and Chinese Nationalism», my comments included. (无忌 thinks there’s an intentional distortion of truth in the Western media coverage.)

Nationalism has been used to describe Chinese a lot lately. So it was interesting to read «The Color of Loyalty» in the latest issue of the Time. In this viewpoint article by Michael Eric Dyson, a sociology professor at Georgetown University, I read for the first time that Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor, "surrendered his student deferment in 1961, voluntarily joined the Marines and, after a two-year stint, volunteered to become a Navy corpsman. He excelled and became valedictorian, later a cardiopulmonary technician and eventually a member of the President's medical team. Wright cared for Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery, earning three White House letters of commendation."

In the case of Grace Wang, I have not gone reading much on Chinese websites to see what have been posted. I believe there are probably death threats to her and her family -- there are shameless people in China just like anywhere else in the world. But I seriously doubt that any of those posters, many likely anonymous, has the guts to act on the threat. I have, just for the heck of it, gone on YouTube to read a couple of pages of the comments on some Jeremiah Wright videos posted there. I don't want to repeat any of the trash I have read. It suffice to say there are threats there as well.

In the same issue of Time, there is also an article by Simon Elegant from Beijing. The author also writes on Time's China Blog. In the article, Mr. Elegant painted the nationalism of China so imminently dangerous, I couldn't help but wonder, why has he not pulled his family out of there yet? His resentment of Chinese shows clearly in his writings. It is hard to fathom why he lives there. After all, the salary he is paid does not possibly make it worthwhile living among "goons and thugs" (Mr. Jack Cafferty of CNN) and risking his life.

A comment on the Grace Wang incident from Yoshi, who sees a victim complex may have some truth to it, even though it may have come from a Japanese. It is probably much easier to see a victim complex from a victimizer's stand point than the other way around. But I have a hard time accepting the argument that the Chinese should just "put their past behind them" when much of Japan to this day does not even acknowledge what had happened in Nanjing 72 years ago. I for one, would not likely to forget the "Eight-Nation Alliance", as I am reminded of it every time I go to the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Rethinking "Human Rights"

First thing first, the guy in this image I saw earlier today stole my idea. Now it's out there, I can only say, if some one starts a fund for the cause, I will donate 1 cent a day.

The events and media reporting in the last few weeks got me reading a lot and thinking quite a bit at the same time. Today, a bunch of friends had a dinner party. The gents naturally leaned towards discussion of politics and social issues. It makes me rethink the term Human Rights a bit.

A lot has been discussed. Human rights is often spoken as an absolute term, somewhat like the word God. Yet, like most, if not all, things of the human world, rarely do we see anything that is absolutely this or that. It could be my ignorance. But it seems worth rethinking about human rights itself. There will need to be a lot of research. I think I could get bored and simply let go of what I want to write about.

Listening to the Dalai Lama

I went to the Peter Wege lecture today at the University of Michigan Crisler Arena today. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was the guest speaker. At first, I was underwhelmed. In the end, he came across to me as a decent human being judging from what he said in the two hours.

It got me thinking, how has this old Tibetan monk, with his incoherent English with no "grammar rules" as he admitted, become such a spiritual figure to so many people? The mystery of Tibetan Buddhism is part of it. His simplified messages about Buddhism and human nature are the other and larger part. His talks present him as a human that a lay person can easily accept, more so than any propaganda from the Chinese leaders or the lies and media spins from the American leaders. At the very least, he obviously has learned the happenings in the modern world. Today, He talked about global warming, overpopulation, over consumption, Christianity, even the poor in Washington D.C.

There were a large number of Chinese protesting outside the arena. I admit being on that side, agreeing the Beijing Olympics should not be taken hostage by any political group, and Tibet should remain an integral part of China. So my thoughts may be considered biased.

Thought one: Media in the west just don't get it. Not to mention the right wing extremists, even NPR does not quite get it. It may be hard to understand how a nation can get so emotional when others threaten to take the moment away from its people. But it is not impossible. One just need to go to the country and observe with an open mind how much effort ordinary people have put into the preparation for the games. Many may disagree with the government about hosting the Olympics. Many would rant and express their strong disagreement because the hardship of hosting the games bring to the people. But all that changes when others try to take the Olympics away from them. That is different. Call it nationalism or whatever, taking something away from a people that they believe (rightfully) is theirs can only meet with resentment. The gentleman in blue shirt was telling someone, "Most of these people (the protesters) don't even know why there are here." He didn't know how wrong he was. Most of the passers-by probably don't care much about right or wrong either in this matter.

Thought two: China needs to open up more. Be tolerant of political dissent. There is really no benefit for the government to shut people up. There is no shame in letting the world know about the problems in the country. When the outside world learn about China, they don't just see the dark side, they will learn the bright side, too. I think that is also part of why China is hosting the Olympics this year.

Thought three: The western media really need to clean up their act. I guess it may be difficult for them to get to Tibet. But has any media outlet made a serious effort to get there? Why would they rather rely on what the Tibetans outside the country told them what happened there? It is obvious to me that Tibet is not important enough for most of them to get the facts right. The person in this picture repeatedly screamed, "Open the door!" There were foreigners in Lhasa at the time of the riots, including jornalists, just not enough of those who can stand on their own to tell what truly happened.

Thought four: The 14th Dalai Lama is a capable and smart politician, maybe even more so than he is a spiritual person. I admire him for that. I think I can understand his frustrations: He is getting old, old enough for him to see death coming. He has been in exile for almost half a century. As a human being, he wants to go home. I believe he also sees reality. I am guessing it's probably those surrounding him that can not let go of the past and dream to go back to Tibet one day to rule over the people like they did in the past. The Dalai Lama talked much about "sustainability" -- although he admitted he could not pronounce that word, -- I don't believe the Tibetan society can sustain the monastery ruling structure. Tibetans may have changed enough that the monks will no longer be able to put much of the population under serfdom/slavery. On one hand, if the Dalai Lama dies in exile, the whole Tibetan exile community will face a huge dilemma. On the other hand, it is in the interest of China to find a political solution to the Tibet Question given the fact that many Tibetans do take the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader.

Last thought: Tibetans are humans. They should be treated as humans with all their good, bad and ugly qualities. I don't buy the claim that any particular ethnicity is born peaceful, cruel, honest or untrustworthy. This person in Tibetan clothing in the center of this picture told me, in fluent English, that he was born in Tibet to a very poor peasant family, that he had been in exile for five years and he learned English in India and here in the US. I don't want to judge him in anyway. But I must say he is a lot smarter than I am. He must be super lucky to have such radiant skin tone after at least 15 years of harsh life in Tibet.

International Night

Went to the International Night at kid's elementary school. It was quite fun for the kids. I met an old gentleman from Pakistan who worked in their Embassy in Beijing in the 70's. He had good feelings towards China.

An old couple, likely from Palestine, asked the small group of us Chinese there, what is that China want from Tibet. I honestly could not think of anything materially significant. We told them that China just wants Tibet since Tibet was a part of China. Even though there have been many variables in the history between the two peoples. But the history is not like that of the Middle East, between Palestine and Israel. After hearing us, they said that side of the story had not been told. Indeed.

Tibet has been part of China since the 1300's. I am guessing the weakness of that society of the past probably had much to do with its structure besides the harsh natural environment conditions. I can only guess how much it took the whole society to feed all those number of monks. For those who were in the monastery system, life might not be bad. But for those at the bottom of the society who had to carry all the burden for producing, feeding and caring for the monasteries, I can not even begin to imagine how heavy the load must have been.

It simply is no surprise that one would prefer to sit on his butt and pray all day if all possible. It is no surprise that there are people who want a "free Tibet" that allow them to do just that. But judging from history, a "free Tibet" is simply an open invitation for the world powers to go in there to assert their influence for their own interests instead of Tibetans'. Just look at what the CIA did in Tibet in the 50's, I really wonder how the Tibetans in exile could bring themselves to seek support in the US government. They are so obviously expendable in those Americans' eyes.

It is also no surprise that, while much of Europe are joining the Union, the west is so bent on splitting China apart. Like we Americans say, "united we stand". That same thing is true for any people of the world. Imagine if the nations of the Middle East were united, would the Iraq war happen? Maybe yes, but more likely not.

"China demands apology from Cafferty"

Reading «China demands apology from Cafferty» is like reading a bad joke which is supposed to be funny but really not.

Mr. Jack looks depressed on TV lately for some unknown reason. He is on CNN to be a foul mouth, probably, to offend anyone he happens to want to for the day, sometimes for no apparent reason as I have seen him being rude on camera to his female colleagues. Otherwise, it defies logic that CNN would let him on the air.

The piece on CNN linked above shows the level of arrogance an American establishment could possibly reach. I don't know "where you can pay workers a dollar a month to turn out the stuff that we're buying from Wal-Mart." Certainly not anywhere in China that I know of.

CNN states:

He issued a clarification of his remarks on Monday's "Situation Room," saying that by "goons and thugs," he meant the Chinese government, not the Chinese people. It was unclear whether China's Foreign Ministry was aware of the clarification when it held the Tuesday news conference.

Nice try on CNN's part to play the victim here. But such word manipulation sounds to me like calling the thousands and thousands Iraqi civilians killed collateral damage. They are dead. Does it really matter what you call them?

I don't watch much TV. But I have kept CNN on my Dish Network subscription. Maybe it is time to cancel that subscription.

"An Incovenient Truth"

I watched Al Gore's movie yesterday. It was very interesting, informational and inspiring.

In the movie, Al Gore made the now famous joke, which went like this:

I am Al Gore. I used to be the next president of the United States.

Come to think of it, the joke is on us. We had a chance to make an intelligent choice, to make certain progress in the society. Yet, the opportunity passed us by. We ended up in a totally different direction. Now thousands are dead, tens of thousands are wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are killed, many hundreds of thousands are rendered into refugees. The US economy is in the ditches. People are being foreclosed out of their houses bought in those boom years. What an enormous joke!

Critics of Al Gore seem to come from all corners of life. I remember reading in an IT magazine an article from an editor, calling Al Gore a hypocrite because he has a big mansion in Tennessee. But then it seems that not many people question the data Al Gore presented in his slide show. So even if Al Gore is a hypocrite as his critics claim, that is irrelevant to the ugly truth we all have to face: The climate has been and is being changed dramatically. We will all be affected if we sit on our hands and just let things happen the way corporate America wants.

Tibet (7)

Just read «The Snow Lion and the Dragon -- China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama» by Melvyn C. Goldstein. A great narrative of a brief history of Tibet and its relationship with China.

When Dalai Lama comes to Ann Arbor, I would really like to ask him two questions:

1. He has announced to the world his aim for Tibet, which is not to seek independence but more (a lot more) autonomy. What is his strategy to reach that end goal?


2. The United States prides itself for its diversity as a national strength. Does he think that is also true for Tibet?

Tibet (6)

Got to Calling China by Nicholas D. Kristof somehow. I was going to read all the comments. But there were so many of them, I only got as far as number 40 after a whole day. :-)

It's a hot discussion.

Then there is Tom Doctoroff's Tibet, Beijing and Olympic Sponsors: To Boycott or Not. Haven't read the whole thing yet but it seems to be an interesting piece.

Looks like my Tibet study is going to continue.