History's greatest monster

The Dalai Lama wants Tibet to have more autonomy while remaining part of China, and has threatened to resign as his people's spiritual leader if violent anti-Chinese protests continue. And as far as the ChiComs are concerned, he's "a monster with human face and animal's heart":

The hardline leader of Tibet has branded the Dalai Lama a “monster” as it emerged that Tibetan students in Beijing have been ordered to effectively renounce any allegiance to their god-king.

Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party Secretary in Tibet, said that the struggle to crush the unrest in the deeply Buddhist Himalayan region involved nothing less than the stability of the entire country.

That battle by China to reassert control over its restive Tibetan population has now drawn in students attending schools and universities in Beijing.

They are required to provide four answers, Tibetan sources told The Times. First, they must write a reply to the question “What position does the Dalai Lama occupy in your heart?” Second, they must provide the address and place of work of their parents. Third, they must give details of their own identity card. Finally, they must guarantee not to take part in any political activities.

I was undecided about whether the summer Olympics in Beijing should be boycotted. Now, not so much.

Damian P.

Update: Jonathan Kay suggests boycotting the opening ceremonies, at least, while Derb proposes some other ways the Olympics could be used to embarrass the Chinese government:

...Some are suggesting, for example, that athletes simply not show up for the opening ceremonies. (They are not required to by their Olympic contract.) There is also the idea, which I rather like, that an entire national team might shave their heads the night before the ceremony to show solidarity with Tibetan monks and nuns, the bravest and most persecuted of Tibetan patriots.

At the Olympics, the Maoists will be dealing with free people from free nations, and there is only so much they can do to control them. It's not clear they understand this. They've been living for decades in a bubble of unchallenged power, and are not very imaginative. The opportunities for embarrassment are endless, and the prospect of it very delicious to anyone who loves liberty. Personally, I hope their stinking Olympics is a huge fiasco, and I see encouraging signs it may be.

Posted by damian at March 19, 2008 07:38 AM