The China Teaching Web

The Chinese government propaganda’s machine was in full swing this week in its latest attempt to portray the Tibetan people and their spiritual leaders as terrorists. According to Xinhua, China’s state owned media and official mouthpiece for the PRC, 16 Tibetan monks have been arrested in connection with some alleged bombing and bomb plots that have taken place in Tibet this year. The news agency quotes local police saying: “All the suspects have confessed to their crimes, claiming they had been listening to foreign radio for a long time and were following separatist propaganda from the Dalai Lama. They said the March 14 unrest had inspired them.” Did they? Come on. This quote smacks of the ridiculous and I almost laughed outloud when I read it. What foreign radio station is instructing monks to set off bombs in Tibet? The BBC? The VOA?  Does anyone actually believe that the Dalai Lama is inciting terrorists activities in the region especially after he said he would resign if the violence increased? This is the kind of ‘propaganda’ that I would have expected to hear from the Communist run government back in the 1960’s. By now, I thought they would be a little more subtle with the way they ‘announced’ supposed confessions. The wording of this quote is just too perfect and makes me believe that these charges were trumped up or completely fabricated.

The Chinese government wants its people and most of all Tibetans to think that 1). listening to foreign radio can corrupt one’s mind and lead them to commit violence and 2). the Dalai Lama is using monks in the region to carry out his evil plans. And the sad part is, most people in China will probably swallow this propaganda hook, line, and sinker. And really, they already have. A student told me recently that the Dalai Lama “should die” because his ‘terrorist’ actions have resulted in the loss of many lives in Tibet. With these extreme attitudes in China, it amazes me that the Dalai Lama has any desire to have talks with a country and a government that wishes he was dead.