Do you support Tibetan independence?

Post Reply New Topic

Right on, Irishmic!

The only peaceful answer to the problem is if China became a democracy and Tibet became a province/state.

Yes, I support Tibetan independence.

Here is something yet said about ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES that China destroys and has done so since it invaded Tibet.

Well, people come first. While I agree destroying archaeological sites is wrong, we need to worry about the people first. While genocide is going on Archaeology is not a major priority...

China has destroyed plenty of temples, no doubt... but that's not "archaeological"

How did they destroy archelogical sites? The great thing about archaeological sites is that they're buried underneath the earth, making them hard to destroy....

By China destroying these sites China destroys the Culture and History of the Tibetan People.

Archeological sites don't need to be buried. Examples Pyramids of Egypt,Stonehenge of the UK. Though You would be right there are many archeological sites that are still buried, and have been unburied.

Yes the Tibetan People need to come first.

That remains to be seen. The Dahlai Lama has another idea.
I think would advocate something akin to Gandhi's "Satyagraha" (Soul force). When someone says: "Force is the only thing they understand," I think, "maybe force is the only thing HE understands.

Tibet must be remembered, It has been taken off most maps!
"Free Tibet" has multiple possible meanings and I'm sure the Tibetans are aware of all of them and are following through on all of them.

There's nothing the West or anyone else in the world can do. China's a power nuclear nation, and a lot of the world, especially the United States, is dependant on them for their economies. People aren't willing to sacrifice most of the world for the sake of freeing Tibet.
That is why "Free Tibet" is merely a war of words that China can easily ignore.

I don't actively support Tibetan independence.
But I am "on their side".
I like the monks. And the scenery and stuff. China is a bully. I don't like that.

I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a second.

Tibet, pre-China takeover, was not a paradise. It was feudalism, with the lamas at the top and everyone else on the bottom.

If Tibet is to be independent, they need to find a less medieval form of government.

Cyanide: If words are unimportant, why do we bother to post.
we just use words?

Delerium: I agree with everything you say. I ony disagree that China can solve the Tibetans' problems for them. In fact, China is no more interested in solving Tibet's problems than the US was and is in solving the problems of the Native American peoples.

I believe that the policies that would have been followed by the fourteenth (?) Dahlali Lama and his successors would have moved Toward democracy. Buddhism is inherently a democratic system.

Yes, I know whats going on in Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Laos. But these things are the heritage of oriental despotism, not Buddhism. Confucionism has a feudal bias, Buddhism does not.

Even though we haven't done real well with going into other countries, I would agree on this stance. This is like genocide. Where could I find that particular documentary you posted? I've always been fascinated by their way of living. It looks so ancient and I don't understand why these unarmed ppl are being bullied and killed. I'd like to know more about why this is happening. I guess any history can repeat itself like Nazi Germany.

One other thing to consider is that China has a 100 million man army, and a very large manpower pool. Defeating them in battle wouldn't be easy for anyone, not even the USA. While a war could theoretically free Tibet and give it its independence again, I'm afraid far more people would die from the war than would be saved by it.

Of course, it is possible that China may one day suffer what happened to the Soviet Union and just collapse into different countries. If this happens, Tibet would probably be one of the first to become independent. China has had more civil wars throughtout its history than any other country on Earth, so it is something that will probably happen again eventually. Tibet just needs to hang on until then.

I'm in with these folks!

One of the continuing problems that Western societies create is that of 'helping' countries without doing their homework.

This is similar to the situation we're in with Iraq and Afghanistan... we jump in trying to force a form of government the general populace either does not understand or possibly desire.

All of you people crying about Freeing Tibet should do a bit further and have some sort of idea about what Tibet would be like without China there.
Just saying, "It would be much better without the Chinese!" and leaving it at that is ignorant and not very helpful to the people of Tibet.

You want to stand up and shout, but you haven't really given the whole issue proper thought.

There was the cry to free Iraq from Saddam, but little mention what would happen once he was gone.
Same thing all over the rest of the world... South America, Africa, Eastern Europe...

I just find it sad the sheer number of people who jump on a bandwagon without really understanding the impact of their desires.
Add to that, all those flaky Celebrities who are equally uneducated about the whole picture, and run around using their public voice and credentials to push a cause... more harmful than helpful.

FREE TIBET? How about HELP TIBET! instead. Help them to create their own country governed how those people desire.

Unlike with Iraq, Tibet already has a functional government in exile. If the Chinese were booted out then all that would need to happen is for this exiled government to return and resume.