I’ve been waiting for the article below to be published before reproducing it here with permission from the writer Barry Sautman, Associate Professor of social science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A slightly shorter version appeared in Monday’s edition of the Straits Times.
Protests in Tibet and Separatism: the Olympics and Beyond
Barry Sautman
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What on earth are we to make of this picture:
Are they taking robes as presents for the monks as a goodwill gesture? Was the photograph actually taken this year?
[UPDATE] As Chiara points out in the comments below, Wang Xiaoshan has now deleted the post I linked to and issued an apology. A commenter at Time […]
New Left Review published a very long and very interesting article in 2002 by Wang Lixiong. Here’s the first paragraph:
In the current debate on Tibet the two opposing sides see almost everything in black and white—differing only as to which is which. But there is one issue that both Chinese authorities and Tibetan nationalists consistently […]
Ten days ago, when Lian Yue rejected suppression of information on Tibet, he had broad support from his readers. Here’s Danwei’s translation of his post:
Information Theory of Tibet
1. Any power which tries to withhold information should be regarded as a bad power.
2. Any power that keeps people […]
There is some anger being expressed by Chinese citizens about foreign media reporting on the Tibet protests and violence. To a certain extent it is justified. Showing pictures of Nepali security forces beating Tibetan protesters and labeling those pictures as Chinese violence is at best sloppy, at worst a lie. And I keep wondering why […]
It’s been quite some time since Yahoo mercifully closed down its news discussion boards. Especially at times of crisis, whether real or perceived, they could make you lose almost all faith in humanity. Below is a translation of one Chinese person’s reaction, posted on Woeser’s blog, to the same phenomenon in China. Text in square […]
I was half way through translating a personal account of the situation in Lhasa by a Han Chinese resident when the inevitable happened - ESWN finished it first. Right now, his post is inaccessible on the mainland because of three keywords that trigger the net nanny: J*khang, Ram*che and P*tala (* = o). This is […]
Monday, February 25, 2008
There’s a very impressive collection of flags that has been circulating for some time, showing various interesting and disturbing facts about each of the countries involved. I saw it for the first time last night at ProState in Flames. A quick Google search identifies Icaro Doria, a young Brazilian designer, as one of the creators […]
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A few weeks ago Xinhua’s Chinese-language website ran an article with the headline “US NEWSPAPER: THE OLYMPICS - A MOMENT THAT MAKES CHINA PROUD.” It’s essentially a translation of another article in the Christian Science Monitor from a few days earlier: “THE OLYMPICS IN CHINA: A MOMENT FOR PRIDE - AND WORLD SCRUTINY.” When one […]
Saturday, January 26, 2008
For two years, Beijing Olympic organizers have been telling us that Nini the Fuwa is a swallow:
Every spring and summer, the children of Beijing have flown beautiful kites on the currents of wind that blow through the capital. Among the kite designs, the golden-winged swallow is traditionally one of the most popular. Nini’s figure […]