China has done it AGAIN!

msnbc: 'China jails reporter for U.S. Website for 4 years'

"Critics say journalist has been imprisoned for daring to 'report news freely' "

Tsk tsk.

Media censorship in China has gone ridiculously overboard.

I reckon, boycott the Beijing Olympics.

Uh oh, I think I've just plopped myself into the extremely long blacklist of the Chinese authorities.

What is legal may not be what is right

CNN Report (29 April): '17 sentenced for alleged roles in Tibet riots'

- China has sentenced 17 people to jail terms ranging from three years to life, for their alleged roles in the Tibet riots.

- " "Monks have been taught legal knowledge in recent days and the monastery has resumed normal religious activities," Tenzin Namgyal, deputy director of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee, was quoted as saying.
Other monasteries that were closed will be reopened soon, he said."

- "Chinese authorities have increased patriotic education classes that require monks to make ritual denunciations of the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader Dalai Lama, accept the Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama, and pledge allegiance to Beijing."

I wonder what the exact charges laid against the people sentenced to life were. I also wonder if all the people sentenced were Tibetans, or if there were any Hans Chinese prosecuted. Were the Hans Chinese completely innocent during the violent riots? Were there no retaliation or violent acts on their part? We don't really know, because the Chinese state media has made it out that all the injured and killed were Hans, and the Tibetans, masterminded by the 'evil' Dalai Lama, were the violent barbaric perpetrators. How true was that?

While resuming talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the Chinese government conducts 'patriotic' education classes for monks in the Tibetan Autonomous Region that REQUIRES them to denounce their leader, the Dalai Lama. So-called legal education. It may be legal, but is it right?

Is this what China calls autonomy for Tibet?

China's Thugs

NEWS.com.au (24 April): 'China's determination to 'defend' relay sparks fury'

China's paramilitary Olympic torch attendants are in the spotlight again. They were branded as 'thugs' for their rough handling of protestors in London and Paris. Now, the Chinese authorities continue to insist on using them for security purposes in Canberra, despite Australia reiterating that ALL security will be handled by the ACT Government.

Once again, China has crossed the line. Not only does it blatantly violate human rights, it is now disrespecting another nation-state. The Olympic torch will be on Australian ground, and China needs to respect the Australian Government in this and stop their obsessive controlling. China has no right, even as the host of the Olympics, to send out its own paramilitary personnel on foreign land for policing purposes on foreign land.

I think China is damaging its image with such behaviour, despite its wish to boost its international image with the Olympics. Quite simply, awful PR.

Slate Article on China

SLATE Opinion Piece (14 April): 'China Learns the Price of a Few Weeks of Global Attention'

Sorry for the lack of informative postings recently. I have been ill, and have not had the time nor energy to write intelligent well-researched pieces on Tibet. I'll get back to it as soon as I can. In the meantime, if any of you has updates or questions or an opinion on the issue, feel free to post a comment. I would really love to hear from you.