Eclipsed from the headlines by the ongoing carnage, there is an active
civil resistance in Iraq that opposes the occupation, the torture regime
it protects, and the jihadi and Ba'athist 'resistance' alike.
Submitted by Bill Weinberg on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 20:43.
I do not dismiss claims from the Chinese government, but examine them with a critical eye, just as I do claims from any other government. On the demographic question:
The comment you link to cites Wikipedia (an unreliable source) citing the Chinese census (let's give it the benefit of the doubt) as giving the "number of Tibetans in Tibet Autonomous Region as 2.4 million, as opposed to 190,000 non-Tibetans, and the number of Tibetans in all Tibetan autonomous entities combined (slightly smaller than the Greater Tibet claimed by exiled Tibetans) as 5.0 million, as opposed to 2.3 million non-Tibetans."
What this fails to consider is that Tibet is a vast and sparsely inhabited territory, and of course the program of colonization is going to begin in Lhasa, the traditional center of culture and political power. From a March 29 AP story:
Chinese government policy of "demographic aggression" is threatening Tibetan culture as increasing numbers of non-Tibetan Chinese move into the region, the Dalai Lama said Saturday.
He also told reporters that China risks instability because of its human rights record.
In Lhasa, the region's ancient capital, there are now 100,000 Tibetans but twice as many outsiders, the Tibetan spiritual leader said. The majority of those are Han Chinese, the country's ethnic majority.
"There is evidence the Chinese people in Tibet are increasing month by month," he told reporters, calling the population shift a "form of cultural genocide."
He also said that a million more people are expected to be settled in Tibet after this summer's Olympics.
So, if we give the Dalai Lama the same benefit of the doubt that we give the Chinese census, the Tibetans are indeed being overwhelmed with Han settlers.
Carole Reckinger's assertion that "It is estimated that the immigrant Han Chinese now outnumber the Tibetans in their own land" may not apply to the entire TAR, but it does seem to apply to Lhasa. This is compounded by the claim that Han settlers dominate the job market and economy.
Israeli settlers constitute less than 20% of the population of the West Bank, but I don't hear any "progressives" offering apologias for that.
Jaundiced phrases like "black and white" miss the point—which is that, whatever errors the Tibetan leadership has committed, there is a right and wrong. Yes, I certainly have made up my mind about that.
The inconvenient facts and unanswered questions surrounding the attacks are legion, but the endemic sloppiness of the self-styled "researchers" is delegitimizing the entire project of critiquing the "official version." The ostentatiously named "Truth movement" is not clearing the air, but muddying the water.
WW4 Report pamphlets
WAR AT THE CROSSROADS
An Historical Guide Through the Balkan Labyrinth
The Balkan region is intensely multicultural - a point of crossroads and clash for some of the world's major religions, cultural spheres, and economic systems. While there have been vicious wars in Balkan history, these have taken place in the context of manipulation by imperial powers and the self-serving local leaders who cater to them.
opensource technology and the people of May First
Not "black and white"—but yes, right and wrong
I do not dismiss claims from the Chinese government, but examine them with a critical eye, just as I do claims from any other government. On the demographic question:
The comment you link to cites Wikipedia (an unreliable source) citing the Chinese census (let's give it the benefit of the doubt) as giving the "number of Tibetans in Tibet Autonomous Region as 2.4 million, as opposed to 190,000 non-Tibetans, and the number of Tibetans in all Tibetan autonomous entities combined (slightly smaller than the Greater Tibet claimed by exiled Tibetans) as 5.0 million, as opposed to 2.3 million non-Tibetans."
What this fails to consider is that Tibet is a vast and sparsely inhabited territory, and of course the program of colonization is going to begin in Lhasa, the traditional center of culture and political power. From a March 29 AP story:
So, if we give the Dalai Lama the same benefit of the doubt that we give the Chinese census, the Tibetans are indeed being overwhelmed with Han settlers.
Carole Reckinger's assertion that "It is estimated that the immigrant Han Chinese now outnumber the Tibetans in their own land" may not apply to the entire TAR, but it does seem to apply to Lhasa. This is compounded by the claim that Han settlers dominate the job market and economy.
Israeli settlers constitute less than 20% of the population of the West Bank, but I don't hear any "progressives" offering apologias for that.
Jaundiced phrases like "black and white" miss the point—which is that, whatever errors the Tibetan leadership has committed, there is a right and wrong. Yes, I certainly have made up my mind about that.