h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Yes, thankfully, the hungerstrike was ended on May 3.

http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2004/5/4_1.html

Thank goodness! I just hope it accomplishes something.

By the way, on the same site, have you read this, and if so, what comments could you make about it?:

http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/2004/5/4_2.html

Yes, I've seen that. There have been a few such comments, written, it seems, mainly by the sort of people who feel compelled to circumambulate counterclockwise, just to be a nuisance.

He does make some uncomfortable points about the idealism and mystification of Tibet. But in all other respects, I think, he and others like him simply miss the point. As several letters written by Tibetans in response point out, whatever the conditions were in Tibet before the Chinese invasion, no amount of Chinese 'progress' and 'development' justifies robbing the Tibetans of their right to choose. Such a suggestion certainly does not validate the brutality of the Chinese occupation.

Comments about the Dalai Lama being a quaint, smiling anachronism indicate to me that the writer learned everything he knows about His holiness from the television news. Certainly, that sort of description is ludicrous to anyone who has listened to the Dalai Lama speak, read any of His books, or spent any amount of time with Him, even on the most superficial level.

There's a certain type of personality, I think, which is compelled always to play the devils advocate; and denigrating the Tibetan issue and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I suspect, is just another way for people like Mr Giannuzzi to pout at the world.

JTG

Hi Jtg & everyone

Just to say sorry I've been so quiet recently. Life has been hectic, and I've had a number of problems, but I am OK, and I do hope to be back properly soon.

Peace and light to you all
Dave

I think it isn't necessary to totally idealise Tibet and the Dalai Lama to think there's something wrong with the situation, with what China is doing. But I just wonder ... what can be done, in practical terms? It's something like five million against one billion! Not good odds.

There is the whole 'issue' of self-government, as well ... irrespective of past conquests and what have you, Tibet has been, geographically as well as culturally, a very unique and distinct place.

Anyways I also know the Dalai Lama is not some woolly-headed New Age Guru. I've read a lot of his writings and I have his 'Book of Wisdom'. It's not fluff ... it's very level-headed in fact, good common sense!

Hi, Dave. Nice to have you back.

My wife and I have just spent 11 days at the Kalachakra in Toronto, which the Dalai Lama ran like a military exercise... only more peacefully, humourously... well, more like the ultimate orchestra conductor... only kinder. And He told more jokes. The Dalai Lama is someone who has spent His life studying the workings of the human mind and possesses an extremely powerful one of His own, definitely not someone to take lightly in any context.

We also attended a lecture by Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's special envoy to China. He said that he is very optimistic that changes in Chinese society will lead to a mutually beneficial solution. One of the things that he points to as giving reason for optimism is the new generation of Chinese negotiators, whom he described as professionals, much easier to talk to than the old school ideologues. The new Chinese diplomats display a confidence, he said, that the old party cronies lacked, which makes meaningful dialogue more realistic.

Sorry for letting things slip a bit lately. The news is a bit out of date, I'm afraid. I'll get down to updating things asap.

JTG

New today: updates to the H2g2 FoT Library and Tibet News.

China has issued a 'white paper' stating that it will not grant autonomy to Tibet, which, it claims, has been an integral part of China 'since ancient times'. China invaded Tibet in 1950.

See the new Canada Tibet Committee (CTC) video:

http://www.tibet.ca/en/video_e.wmv

We are rapidly approaching the fifteenth anniversary of the 1989
Tiananmen Square massacre ( June 3rd-4th). Not only has the Beijing regime never yet acknowledged, still less apologised for the slaughtering of their own people, but Being has been actively attempting to prevent any discussion of those events. The enclosed Reuters report shows that the Chinese authorities have already started rounding up possible protesters in view of the forthcoming anniversary.

This is not surprising given the recent aggressive stance of the Chinese on a number of fronts, including their hostile reaction to Taiwan's presidential overtures, and their totally dismissive "White Paper on Tibet", summarily rejecting any suggestion of negotiations for genuine autonomy in that tormented country.

Here is the Reuters report of the pre- Tiananmen clamp-down.




China gags Tiananmen dissidents ahead of anniversary
27 May 2004 11:46:54 GMT

By Juliana Liu

BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - Police in China have placed prominent dissidents under house arrest to prevent them from publicly commemorating the 15th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown, they said on Thursday.

Police started to surrounded the residences of known dissidents in the past week, preventing them from meeting journalists or carrying out rituals to honour the dead, the activists said.

Liu Xiaobo, a former university lecturer who supported the protests and helped negotiate safe passage for some students out of the square in 1989, cannot leave his home in northern Beijing, he told Reuters.

"I can't go anywhere. There are five or six young men guarding me all the time," he said before his telephone line was cut off.

On the night of June 3-4, 1989, the People's Liberation Army stormed central Beijing in tanks, killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pro-democracy demonstrators and bystanders.

Hu Jia, a 30-year-old activist for AIDS and environmental issues, has been under house arrest for nearly a week and has tried in vain to fight his way out.

"I was no match for the six of them," he said by mobile phone. Calls to his home telephone have been repeatedly cut off, though Hu said he could surf the Internet.

He was detained by police three times in April for trying to place flowers on Tiananmen Square in honour of the fallen students and Hu Yaobang, the reformist Communist Party chief whose death in 1989 sparked the democracy protests.

Police said Hu would be freed on May 29 as long as he leaves Beijing with his 68-year-old mother and two police officers on a "vacation", he said. Hu was told he would be allowed to return to the capital on June 10.

"My mother is there as a hostage. They know I won't try to escape without her. This is despicable. She has heart problems and is afraid for me," he said.

Ding Zilin, an outspoken 67-year-old leader of the "Tiananmen Mothers" group, has also been placed under house arrest. She is allowed to leave, accompanied by police, only to buy food and take her ailing husband to see doctors.

Ding's teenage son was killed during the massacre.

"They have treated me like this nearly every year since 1994," she said by telephone. "I protest the illegal action. They are trampling on citizen's rights."

Ding, spokeswoman for a campaign that urges the government to take responsibility for the killings and re-assess the protests it still deems a "counter-revolutionary rebellion", said police refused to say which high-ranking official had ordered the detention.

Thanks, Chai. I think it's noteworthy how little is being made, in the context of the war against human rights, of the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. This is something we should not allow to slip by unobserved.

The PLA is marking the anniversary of the massacre by participating in this year's Edinburgh Tattoo,

http://www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk/index.html

This is, to say the least, astonishingly insensitive. I've already written to the Tattoo's producer, Brig. Jameson, about this, as well as the City of Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament. I've just noticed that their online forum lacks a discussion of the PLA and its invitation to Scotland.


Do you know of any campaigns that we should be paying attention to with regard to Tiananmen Square?

Hi JtG.

Alas not. As I wrote just now on the other Tiananmen thread, the west is entirely preoccupied with Iraq, oil and now Saudi Arabia. But Hong Kong has just had its biggest ever demo re June 4th.

I am gobsmacked that the PLA have been invited to the Edinburgh tattoo.

It seems South China Morning Post was exaggerating the size of the Hong Kong demo. It was still in thousands however. Here's a report on Tiananmen from CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/05/31/china.chinoy.square/index.html

It's remarkable that a demonstration was permitted at all. Is there much interaction Between HK and the mainland or does Beijing keep it fairly isolated?

Here's a link to the Tattoo forum:

http://edintattoo.net/forum/

I've started a thread, 'Lest we forget - Tiananmen Square', but the forum seems quite inactive.

From Students for a Free Tibet:

Fifteen years ago today, on June 4th 1989, China's People's Liberation Army massacred demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Over a million students, laborers, civil servants and ordinary men, women and children had gathered there to demand democracy and freedom in China. Rather than listen to the voices of their own people, the Chinese government sent soldiers and tanks into the crowds to crush the uprising. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed and injured.

Today, on the fifteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, we remember and honor the courage, dedication and vision of the Tiananmen demonstrators. We condemn the actions of the Chinese government and we grieve for those who were killed.

Despite the overwhelming violence and brutality used against the Chinese and Tibetan people, the spirit of resistance remains strong. China's leaders have failed to wipe out the desire for freedom in China and Tibet and ultimately, the people will prevail.

For a Free Tibet and for a Free China,

Alma, Lhadon, Freya and Han-shan


To demand accountability for the Tiananmen Square Massacre please visit The Tiananmen Mothers Campaign and sign the petition:

http://www.fillthesquare.org


To find out more about efforts to promote human rights and democracy in China please visit the website of Human Rights in China:

http://www.hrichina.org

Just for all those interested out there, Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lama's sister, responsible for the 14,000 or more children in the Tibetan Children's village at Dharamsala, India, will be speaking at the 25th International Montessori Congress. 14-17th July, 2005, Sydney, Australia.

for more details you can find the congress link at aaaa.net.au

Thankyou!

Montessori Congress Team.

[The above was copied from Tibetan Children's Villages (A644221) forum - JTG]

A resolution has been introduced in the US Senate calling on China to Release Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and other political prisoners:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.RES.365:

According to ICT,

'Senate Res. 365 was inspired by the success of House Resolution 157, which called for the release of Tibetan nun Phuntsog Nyidron and other Tibetan political prisoners. H.Res. 157 overwhelmingly passed the House of Representatives on February 3, 2004, and Phuntsok Nyidrol was released from Drapchi prison on February 26, 2004, thirteen months before her expected release date.

'The passage of this bill will put needed pressure on China to release Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and other Tibetan political prisoners. Please take action and ask your senators to pass Senate Resolution 365.'

The sponsors of the resolution are Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM).

Hi there! I'm Alex, and I'm amazed by the way that China have just occupied Tibet for so long! I had no idea that any of this was happening until last week when I read an article in Peer Review about the PRC's 'claim' to Tibet.
I'm willing to help as far as I can, but I am having problems getting to a computer at the moment.

AlexAshman

Great stuff, Alex! Check out our Current Projects section,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A2170982#5

for some ways to get involved. Some things involve computer access, others do not. There should by something there for all tastes.

Welcome aboard!

JTG

Volunteer opportunity:

Students for a Free Tibet is looking for both student and non-student Sector Contacts (regional coordinators) for next year in Sectors 2, 4 and 8 (USA). Sector 2 is comprised of Upstate NY, OH, PA. Sector 4 is comprised of DC, VA, MD, DE. Sector 8 is comprised of CO, AZ, NM, UT, NE, KS, OK, WY.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact SFT for more information.

The Library has been updated to include two new Entries by HMN Chaiwallah (U219914), 'China's Fate: Another Taiping Rising?' and 'Tibet - Why the Chinese are There':

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A2179974#3