The BBC has just reported ont he situation in Tibet - there have been further protests today with people killed and monks beaten. Thet also reported that in China there is no reporting of whats happening in Tibet and China blacks out the BBC service when they talk of Tibet - it goes to a blank screen.

US Embassy is advising all citizens to stay indoors at hotels in Lhasa, and advise others to defer traveling to Tibet for now.

Here's what being posted by the US Embassy in Beijing:

beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/031408u.html

This one from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office:

tinyurl.com/bopm3

Here's one of the better news articles:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008...5/tibet.china1

Had to happen, don't you think?

Tibet is not China. Forced to be so in 1951 when nobody was really looking, being far more focussed on events in Korea.

And now who is going to stand up for them. Especially with the Olympics coming up in August.

It's the same old story. The olympics are just sport. Great for the participants keeping fit in mind and body. But it's gone beyond that. Now totally political.

The Games should never have been awarded to China given its despicable record on human rights. And anyone going to them implicitly agrees that it's OK to destroy neighbourhoods, kill protesters and shut down channels of free infomation.

Boycott the games.

And if the BBC is listening - don't show any of it. You can do that - don't show any of it. Stand up and be counted.

It's interesting to see how people act in comparison to the recent crackdown in Myanmar. No talk of boycotting travel to China or buying Chines goods?

Hanuman - what you say is very true - it is interesting, quite a different response.
China has set midnight on Monday as a deadline for all protests to stop.

I was hoping to make a trip to Lhasa during the later part of my SE Asia journey... most likely heading there via train after a short visit to Xian.

As I understand it, it was a little difficult to begin with to get there officially, and my best bet was to 1. not mention tibet/lhasa in my Visa application (done) and 2. get a travel permit from a chinese agency when ariving in China.

Obviously, I will have to judge most of my decision based on what is currently going on when I am ready to go there, but Im curious of those opinions of travelers here.

I had hoped to see the Olympic Torch pass through the city, but considering current factors... would they be allowing foriegners into Tibet during that time frame as "freely" as they had prior to this weeks incidents (relative use of the term freely haha).

Hanuman, I think we SHOULD boycott travel to China and buying Chinese goods.

I try not to buy stuff from China. I confess I have travelled there (1997 - a journey that included Tibet) and more recently Oct 2006. The latter was a 4 day stopover which I chose specifically to see how Beijing had changed.

In 1997 the middle classes were starting to grow, and I was appalled by the in your face conflict between Party ideology and the sight of a coolie in Chongquing carrying bricks the old way, and labourers digging the road with pickaxes - both right in front of a brand new sparkling USA style mall.

By 2006 the gulf was wider and the hypocrisy more evident.

No way will I ever go there again. And no way would I go to Burma.

But that's just how I see it. Others must make their own choice.

Fascinates me though how the arch Free Market nation (socialism is a dirty word) squares the circle when it comes to China (vast command economy).

I guess we must assume the word "principle" has been erased from the dictionary.

I am posting on this Asia forum for the first time.

The horrific situation in Tibet and the suffering of Tibetans has not gone completely unnoticed in other parts of the world, but has never been given the amount of attention it deserves. Many practicing western Buddhists and others have been well aware of it.

Having recieved the blessings of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and attended his public teachings on various occasions, and seen films of monks beaten as well as the terrible conditions of Tibetans still living in Tibet. (the Chinese government puts nomadic groups into ugly cement block buildings and makes them exist on a meager allowance, when they had a good and healthy lifestyle before the invasion)
Tibet was once a beautiful and peaceful country, this latest crisis is the latest in a long and painful line of abuses. I have met Tibetan Buddhist nuns who crossed the mountains repeatedly prostrating themselves all the way to Dharamsala, India just to get to touch the Dalai Lama.
I have met respected Tibetan Rimpoches (teachers) who have spent 20 years locked in Chinese prisons, and been tortured. Then I attended teaching where they promoted peace and forgiveness.
The pain of so many Tibetans who have lived all this time without their homeland is awful to see.

Then, a few months ago, in one of my ESL classes (I teach English), we were speaking about the Dalai Lama, and a young Chinese girl asked, "But Tibet wasn't really a country was it?" Which shows the level to which the Chinese government has brainwashed it's own people.

There are Tibetan protesters on Mount Everest trying to keep the Olympic Torch from passing into the country.

One can be sure that the Chinese government will lie and try to cover up what is happening in Lhasa, as they have been doing all these years anyway as they have systematically try to destroy an entire culture.

We need an international probe into what is going on in Llasa, right away.

I hope the Olympics is boycotted, because it's one more opportunity to stand up for the rights of Tibetan people and their homeland.

I would never go there for thr reasons mentioned by bellastar. I am sure many people from other countries feel that way about the US and what's happening in Iraq, that's their choice too.

But killing peaceful monks, Tiananmen Square, or murder of peaceful protesters to me is the lowest of the low. Does a whole nation of people deserve to be penalized by it's country's government? For me it is yes unfortunately. Just can't support the inhumanity amongst other things.

Travelinwifey -- But what about when the people have no choice in their government? Do they still deserve to be penalized?

In the United States, we elect our leaders -- but I don't feel like our government's actions represent me and I cringe when I am judged by our leaders. Which, thankfully, is not that often.

In China, the people don't even have suffrage -- they're about 10x farther removed from their government than we are.

The situation in Tibet is terrible and I support the Tibetan people. (It does look pretty grim for them, however.) But cutting ourselves off from China or any country with which we disagree is not the answer -- change will only come through open dialogue.

A bit of a historical note here:

When Tibet pledged to become part of the Greater Manchu Empire (18th century), Han China itself had been conquered by the Manchus.

The Manchus treated the Tibetans differently. They honored their religion. Anyone who has gone to Beijing has gone to the Lama Temple, few know its history. If people go to Chengde, the Manchu summer capital, they will see one great architectural building after another honoring Tibetan religion and its religious leaders. Few visiting those buildings understand their historical significance, least of all the Han Chinese.

The Manchu emperors attempted to all things to all men. They tried to appeal to the Han Chinese in Han Chinese terms. They tried to appeal to the Tibetans on Tibetan terms. They tried to appeal to the Mongols on Mongol terms. They appealed to their own people, the Manchus, in Manchu terms. Which is why the official dynastic history of the Manchus is written in four different languages: Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, and Chinese. Most people access Manchu history only through the Chinese version.

When the Manchu dynasty was overthrown and a Chinese Republic took its place, the Tibetans considered their original ties to the Manchu dynasty as broken. The Han Chinese, never understanding the complicated Central Asian ties that had bound the Mongols and the Tibetans to the Manchus, considered Tibet still a part of China.

Thus the grounds for the current controversy.

Paraphrasing Chairman Mao: "Political power is gained at the point of a gun."

I may be wrong on one fact: the Manchu dynastic history may have been written in five official languages, the fifth being Uighur Turkic. Sorry, I wait to be corrected. Old age, memory failure again!

Hello petitepois, I know it is the same as holding the American people personally accountable because of what Bush does. As mentioned above I can't blame anyone if they don't want to visit the US because of the government's policies, and I feel that way towards China. Add to that the fact that our own government owes them so much money from our horrid war, I just can't justify spending my money there and rewarding other bad behavior. The humanitarian issues bother me too much. A boycott of visiting China wouldn't mean anything anyways to the governement as they already import more to us than we export plus the $$$$$ we owe them. Just a personal choice.

We had a chance to go last year with my spouse's best friend (his wife is American born Chinese) and though we were tempted to go there were more minuses for us than plusses. Finally, with the amount of polution my asthma could never take it. I would become very ill and probably wouldn't make it without having to leave early. Happened to me flyian AirItalia years ago on smoking planes, we had to get off at our stop over, get medicine for me, stay overnight so I can get better, and fly home the next day on a nonsmoking carrier. Just not doable for us for many reasons.

Ps, I don't begrudge anyone for going there, one of my close internet friends went a few years ago and loved it. I would love to see the Great Wall one day, just not today.

I am back to focus this back to the horrific situation in Tibet and neighboring provinces.
This is so tragic. As a woman who studied Tibetan Buddhism, and practices a western form of Buddhism, I am feeling the heartbreak of the Dalai Lama today.
His commitment to nonviolence is very real, and in fact he has now said he will resign his position as head of state if the violence continues. He is also the adored spiritual leader of Tibet.
Over the years I have met many Tibetans who share a commitment to nonviolence, so I know for sure that if there are violent acts now, it's after all these many decades of suffering at the oppressive practices of the Chinese government, and it's true that a slow form of cultural genocide is being practiced against the peoples of Tibet, and has been for years, while most of the world, including the US government watched.
The young protesters have the passion for their country, but don't have the vast spiritual experience and discipline of their fathers. There are monks who are setting themselves on fire in Protest, and I have no doubt in my mind that they are sitting still in Meditation as the flames surround them. The Tibetan religion has been, and will be, a precious gift to the Western world.
Since 1959, the Chinese government has been demanding that TIbetans identify themselves as Chinese, and there isn't one Tibetan who thinks of him/herself as any kind of a Chinese. Tibetans are Tibetan and have their own, highly religious culture, one which the Chinese Government has tried and failed to erase. This is a formula for tragedy on a grand scale. The 2008 Olympics pales in my mind except it has been a rare opportunity for these Tibetans to try to shine a light on what is happening to them.
I fear tomorrow.

Somehow, I find the picture in this report pretty amusing.

It's from London.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle3576792.ece

rkkwan, notwithstanding what any of us may think about China and its treatment of Tibet, there's no excuse for the failure by the British Museum to safeguard another nation's culture legacy -- even if no damage was done, how can someone get so close to the statues to place placards on them. If I was China, I'd pull the exhibition or request heightened security.

I'm sure the Brits would be up in arms if they had lent Turners to a Chinese museum and someone hung an "England out of Ireland" sign on them.

bellastarr: well said! Wish more people would speak out and persuade their governments to protest.

The Tibetans have their own culture, their own history, their own language, their own food (more meat and yak milk based), their own customs (Mahayana Tantric Buddhism), live geographically in a different area - they are not Han Chinese.

However, the current Chinese government wants to claim the territorial expanse of the former Manchu Empire as "China". That's why there's a big fight over Taiwan and now this blowup over the occupation of Tibet against the Tibetan people's will. There is a wholesale movement by Beijing to "sinicize" Tibet, to make it more Han Chinese. The building of the railroad to Lhasa was another means to bind Tibet closer to Beijing. The Han Chinese could be more humane and more understanding in trying to keep Tibet within its sphere of influence. Wish the Han Chinese would behave more like the Manchus had. Honey attracts more than brute force.

Chinese history has ever been that when the central government had power, it could bind the outer regions to the central empire. No power, no empire.

I feel very sad for the Tibetan situation but don't know how the world is going to persuade the Han Chinese to go easier on the Tibetans.

You go, bellastarr, just keep posting.

Yes, if I had a religion to practice it would be Buddhist. I've read the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and I agree with much of the teachings.

Am I the only other person who finds the photo (the Times article) funny?

This is a very good read. And also confirms what I understand happened in Lhasa last weekend:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapc...les.interview/

The coming few days will be very difficult. Troops are pouring into Tibet and the Tibetian areas in surrounding provinces, and all foreign journalists have been kicked out. So, it'll be harder to tell what will go on.

In my opinion, Beijing is handling this extremely poorly. They should be working and talking with the Dalai Lama now to calm things down. Instead, they're doing the exact opposite and demonizing someone that is well respected in the West, whether you agree with or not.

The stakes are very high now, as if Beijing don't play it right this coming days or weeks, a Olympic boycott - not necessarily by official delegations, but just by significant number of top atheletes - will become more likely. Beijing has nobody to blame but itself.