... because it's the American thing to do... Kinda.
Trillions of dollars are being spent on a war that, as of recently, has been sold as an Iraqi liberation war. So... We're America, we do the right thing. When we see injustice, we inject diplomacy. When injustice persists, we persist. So...
How can we spend two (or more) full generations of tax dollars on a war for liberation in one country, then stumble to recognize a real chance to supply political pressure to a country that is sponsoring the genocides in Darfur and the oppression of Tibet?
(Photos from the recent riots in Tibet)
You don't have to be a political expert to see the flaw in our American ideals there. Or to see that China is wildly committing human rights crimes. And that this couldn't be a more perfect opportunity for the “free” world to say no to China and no to oppression.
Think about that word, liberation... Who really needs it?... Who has it?
Well, about two weeks after the riots in Lhasa that reminded the world of China's crimes... the Beijing Olympics unofficially started. Lighting the Olympic torch in Tiananmen Square today (yeah, that Tiananmen Square) to begin it's 20 day journey around the world.
Dozens of protest are expected, the torch only coming to America once to San Fransisco where of course, huge protest are planned. Ugh...
First came lead in Barbie dolls, now lead in millions of human beings, when did America stop doing the right thing?... or was it always about money? Double Ugh...
For more info check out, freetibet.org
Ugh News Update (4/2/08):
Does Nancy Pelosi read Ugh News?!? (We totally think so.)
Today she jumped on the boycott bandwagon... and pleads for U.S. officials, like President Bush, to sit out the opening and closing ceremonies.
We fucking LOVE Madame Speaker Pelosi!!!
Ugh News Update II (4/3/08):
There is some fantastic incite from a political science major who specializes in Asian history in the comments section... These are exactly the kinds of conversations Ugh News was created to explore. Check it out!
Written by Conrad Benner, Photos from saledargento and Tibetanstar
1 comment:
first, let me say that i really enjoy reading this blog and have read it since your first post. wish you would post more, but i know you have a life that resides outside of ugh news!
interestingly enough, i'm a history and political science major who specializes in asian history. i'm graduating in may and am writing my senior thesis on the 1989 tiananmen square protests.
i don't entirely agree with this post because all of the facts are not posted. while it's great to bring attention to ugh news readers the problems between tibet and china, you have not included crucial facts and information. saying china is a communist country is sort of a conundrum nowadays. what is true is that a communist government is in charge, and unjustly overbearing. however, china has become much more democratized in a sense that it has become more western.
i am not denying that china's government has its people under an iron fist, they continue to unjustly censor internet. and conversation about tiananmen can get any chinese arrested and put into a labor camp. the conflict between tibet and china is much more complicated than many americans realize. and a free tibet could pose much more problems. for instance the top 2 things that chinese and tibetans petitioned the government for in 2007 was the environment and payment for lands seized by the government. the 3rd complaint was wages. while china refuses to recognize tibet, we cannot simply say "FREE TIBET!". even i don't fully comprehend the situation and can't seem to find a helpful solution.
it seems like tibet is a sort of trend that people pick up, but don't understand. it is a very delicate solution that will require years of compromise. most chinese are content with their lives and want to forget about tiananmen. and most chinese, take it how you like, do not care about tibet. and the same goes for tibetans. to say that china is committing crimes against humanity is an exaggeration. it would be better to say that the government is oppressive. for the US to interfere with china's problems would only further complicate the situation. the US is very aggressive in its foreign politics and democracy might not be the right answer for china. china is still deep in tradition, and most chinese hold government jobs. the tiananmen 1989 protest was not about democracy as we americans understand it to be. this is somethine i learned in my seminar that i am currently taking. the students were asking for democracy in the kant sense.
most importantly, democracy cannot happen in china or tibet without the consent of the people. they both have a long-standing history and tradition of protesting the government, and we should take that into consideration before we rattle off about the injustice of china and tibet. simply saying that democracy will end all suffering is incorrect and very american. it's hardly even working for us.
for further reading, i strongly suggest the tiananmen papers by zhang liang, the gate of heavenly peace by jonathan spencer, and quelling the people by timothy brook.
it will be interesting to see the course of events leading up to the olympics in beijing. china has a long-standing tradition of anniversaries and numbers, and as you know the games officially being 8.8.08 also note that taiwan will be holding its elections during that week, which i'm sure will have interesting results. time will only tell.
Post a Comment