China: Unable to Sweep Tibet Under the Rug

China’s “leaders” must be wondering if it was worth squashing and stomping that Tibetan uprising 49 years ago. If they had it to do over again…

The Soviet Union was derailed when it tried to conquer Afghanistan. The United States has the twin albatrosses of Vietnam and Iraq to wear around its neck. Maybe Tibet will be China’s unraveling. If nothing else, they’ll probably have to loosen their iron grip on their one billion plus citizens. Either that or try to un-invent the computer, the internet and the cell phone.

Right now the Chinese government is kind of like that Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. Only, there are too many holes and not enough fingers.

China claims Tibet has “always been part of China” and Tibetans say they were independent before Chinese troops first entered the region in 1950. In any case the two peoples and cultures are as different as night and day.

This conflict sure is making some strange bedfellows. You wouldn’t expect conservatives to have much sympathy for either side: A swarthy ethnic group who practices the “wrong” religion versus an evil communist dictator.

Then again, China is one of our biggest trading partners. And they're our landlords. We can't afford to piss them off.

The ultra rightwing Jesse Helms (R-Jesus) used to make occasional noises about aiding the Tibetans against their Chinese oppressors. I never could tell whether he actually had an affinity with Tibetan Buddhists or whether it was just another excuse to bash Communist China.

With the upcoming Olympics, China is determined to have everything seamlessly choreographed while they're in the world spotlight. How will they react when thousands of long-oppressed Tibetans rear their heads and make an embarrassing scene right in front of God and everybody?

Here is a link to current news updates on the Tibet-China standoff.