Monday 24 March 2008

The Orient Express

Anyone who has read a newspaper or seen a news bulletin in the last week will know that there is unrest in the Far East.

Beijing has come in for heavy criticism from various nations after its reaction to Tibetan protests after undercover journalists managed to produce footage showing Chinese military patrols on the streets of Lhasa.

The extent of Chinas's supposed tyranny stretches further however. A report on the Chanel 4 News last Thursday (C4 News, 20/03/08) suggested that Tibetans who had gone missing were most likely captured by Chinese authorities for torture or even execution. The report claimed that the missing had virtually no chance of being seen by relatives again.

The Chinese regime has been criticised many times before for its human rights record and the Riots and protests in Lhasa have done nothing to quell the accusations.

Gordon Brown stated in last week's Prime Minister's Questions that he opposes Beijing's approach to Tibet and this attracted a response of condemnation from the Chinese government. Indeed, a BBC News report (BBC News, 21/03/08) described China's message to the rest of the world as one of "mind your own business."

It is perhaps unsurprising that China's state-controlled media has blamed the Dalai Lama for the troubles, given the icy relationship he has endured with the Chinese administration. The rest of the world seems to have sided with Tibet's spiritual leader, whose name means "Ocean of Tranquility."

The global response to the riots is extremely expected, but less so is the future of the relationship between China and Tibet.