Chinese troops converge in Tibetan areas

The situation is Tibet is a very serious one. Most Americans only even know where Tibet is because of the rock-star popularity of the Dalai Lama. Today the Chinese government has sent thousands of troops into Tibet to, allegedly, hunt down rioters. The question that has to be asked is obvious. How does one identify a "rioter" if they are not caught in the act of "rioting"? Call me paranoid, but I have a bad feeling that people are just going to rounded up indiscriminately and publicly executed. In addition, Beijing has warned tourists and journalists away from Tibet. This is also very significant. For one thing, tourism is a big income generator for the area (and, since it is part of China, presumably the rest of the country as well). So, a lost of tourism costs money. But, more importantly, journalists are being warned away. This is never a good sign. It appears to me that Beijing would like to "punish" the country for creating this embarrassing situation.

Which brings us back to the Dali Lama. Last week, he threatened to resign if the violence didn't stop. This was an interesting, even shocking, move on his part. China is accusing him of inciting the violence, but it is obvious, to me, anyway, that this is not the case. The Dali Lama is both the spiritual and the political leader of Tibet. He performs both functions from Darmsala, India, since he has been in exile since 1959. China, of course, is in a difficult position with this, because if they recognize the Dali Lama as leader, it implies that China is not completely in control of the region. However, when the Dali Lama says that he is going to resign, be must be talking about his political role, since his spiritual role is established by the fact that he is the 14th incarnation of the office. He cannot "resign" and still be alive.

This threat is a two-edge sword. On the one hand, it says to Tibet "You MUST stop the violence. If you do not, I will resign as your political leader, and you will be on your own." Why would he do such a thing? Why would he not stand beside his countrymen in their struggle for freedom? Because, the Dali Lama is the "incarnation of compassion". His whole being is a symbol of peace. And, besides, China is likely to squash them like a bug.

Secondly, it says to China "You must back off, or I will resign. That will leave Tibet with no leadership (since they do not recognize yours), and the entire area will fall into chaos and anarchy. This will be a very embarrassing situation for you right before you host the Olympics"

Hosting the Olympics is a big deal in the International Community. China has been working very hard in recent years to be taken seriously as a world power. The recent problems with poison dog food and lead contaminated toys have been real problems for them in the recent past. Just think what a large scale punitive public execution would do!

And, finally, do not underestimate the power of the rock-star in this country. China makes a LOT of money on us. What would happen if the U.S. finally enacted a large-scale boycott of all Chinese goods and services? We won't do it to strengthen our own economy, but perhaps we would do it for the Dali Lama. Wouldn't that be interesting?

This is big news.