It was a very tragic event but as RV suggests, it certainly took the focus of the world away from the misunderstandings of Tibet and the role of the central goverment as a liberator from the past to a new and brighter future for Tibetans.

Yep! You read right - liberated!

Amazing how so many foreigners since the games, now see the Chinese, as a people worthy of a greater depth of understanding from western quarters and not through the glass so darkly trumped up by propaganda that was perpetrated not only from east to west but also from west to east during the cold war.

For every reason there is a season, that can shade the past or enlighten the future.
(Quote Kaibo)

Hey admit it you would only be sad for a short while, its a win-win situation.

I think you need to read my post again. This is exactly what I said in my post above…

“No one that I know of is suggesting that the Chinese government somehow artifically created the earthquake to take the world’s attention off Tibet or that they are happy with the tragedy. Such an accusation would be ridiculous. However, there is little doubt that the tragic event in Sichuan has produced one positive aspect for the CCP”

I also wrote,

“I know that some will accuse me of bashing the Chinese government in this post. That is not my intention. If in fact the Chinese government has used the earthquake coverage to shift the world focus away from Tibet, it is simply engaging in ’smart politics.’ As I remarked earlier, I doubt that anyone in the Chinese government wanted to see such a tragedy occur in Sichuan, but it is not surprising to me that they would try to take advantage politically of the situation.”

As you can clearly see, I never suggested that the CCP created the earthquake. Before you call people names why don’t you take the time to actually read the post instead of skimming through it and making things up because you have a bone to pick with me.

Thanks for your comments. I certainly did not intend to suggest that the Chinese government would forget about Tibet because of the earthquake. To the contrary, I think that the CCP wants the world to forget about Tibet and they will continue to deal with that situation quietly.

As far as your analysis of the media is concerned, I am sure that many probably agree with you. The Chinese media still has a long way to go in terms of how they cover stories but you have to admit that the flow of information coming out of Sichuan through state media is stil quite impressive when compared to the past.

That said, there is no doubt that this is a bit of a godsend, in terms of international press coverage of China. I don’t think, however, that we’ll see the government forgetting about Tibetan or Xinjiang separatists. The Chinese government has shown us in the past that it’s capable of decentralized decision making and pursuing, simultaneously, many programs. Sometimes this backfires, when provinces pursue mutually contradictory policies. However, I would not be surprised by a quiet roundup of a few “unreliable” people.

There is already spin going on in the Chinese media, however. While coverage of the quake has been amazingly open, coverage of the government response to the quake has been going through a great deal of spin. The quake has exposed a lot of the military’s inadequacies in terms of equipment, preparedness, and training. You say that “the CCP will ensure that the state owned media organizations continue to portray an accurate and up-to-date picture of what is occurring as the recovery and rebuilding process begins in Sichuan Province”. I would respectfully disagree. I believe what will be shown are selected segments calculated for maximum pathos value–human interest stories showing how much people have suffered and how the indomitable Chinese spirit is recovering. Hard facts and coverage of where the recovery efforts are inadequate will not be very forthcoming.