THERE IS NO CHINA:

Still Tibetan after all these years: Economic advance is not winning all that many hearts and minds (The Economist, 2/01/07)

IT WAS an odd remark to come from a Chinese government official. Instead of flaunting the 13.2% growth that his autonomous region reportedly achieved in 2006, he was openly contemptuous of the calculations: "The officials tell us what incomes Beijing wants us to report and then we just have to report those numbers, even though there are farmers earning far less." Worse, he has views on the limits of Chinese sovereignty. "Highest this in China, highest that in China," he says, in a caustic imitation of Chinese tour guides. "This," he declares, a hand sweeping out towards the mountain-circled horizon, "is not China. This is Tibet."

He may work for the Chinese government, but he is an ethnic Tibetan and, like many others, he is intransigently opposed to all things Chinese. His motives in working for the party are purely mercenary: "It's the highest paying job I can get." He also admits that he would like to visit India to see the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader. But, for now, he must earn money.

His is a common tale in modern Tibet: even as they take advantage of some of the economic opportunities Chinese rule has brought, many Tibetans remain staunchly proud of their own culture. This belies Chinese propaganda portraying supporters of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan separatism as a dwindling minority.

Marxists still haven't figured out that Man is not a material creature?

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 1, 2007 9:14 PM