Monday, March 23, 2009

Portrayals of China's Tibet policy unfair

Portrayals of China's Tibet policy unfair

I REFER to Mrs Lisa Reiken's Online Forum letter last Thursday, 'US' assimilation of Native Americans not to be emulated'. There is a general lack of understanding in the West of the situation in Tibet and I wish to add my perspective as a Chinese citizen.

Mrs Reiken is right to say that the assimilation policies practised in the United States and Australia in the past are not to be applied elsewhere.

The establishment of American Indian boarding schools in the US and the forcible removal of Aborigine children from their parents in Australia (the Stolen Generations) are examples of misguided state initiatives that weakened and even exterminated native populations' language, religion and culture. Those are shameful failings of humanity and should never be allowed to be repeated in modern times.

However, if Mrs Reiken implies that China is following the old American and Australian policies in governing Tibet, she could not be further from the truth.

On the contrary, China's preferential policies towards minorities have preserved Tibetan language and culture.

Tibetan children are taught solely in the Tibetan language in primary school. Bilingual education (in Chinese and Tibetan) begins only from secondary school. In fact, more than 90 per cent of Tibetans speak Tibetan as their mother tongue. The same cannot be said of the native populations in most Western countries.

As part of China's socio-economic policies towards racial minorities, all Tibetan households receive state subsidies (whereas Han Chinese families do not). China's 'one child per family' policy is not enforced in Tibetan families. Students of Tibetan ethnicity can enter university with lower examination scores than Han Chinese students.

With regard to religion, Tibetans can practise Buddhism freely, without interference from the local or central governments, contrary to misconceptions pervasive in the West. The government has invested heavily in preserving temples, monasteries and other religious artefacts in the region, though it will not allow religion to be used as a vehicle to incite violence.

It is fair to say that China has done a good job as far as protecting minority rights and promoting minority benefits are concerned. One also needs to bear in mind that China was able to achieve this while recovering from its recent tumultuous history, scarred by foreign invasion, civil wars and misguided internal policies (for example, the Cultural Revolution).

It is unfortunate, however, that Western media and political discourse are full of inaccurate portrayals and biased commentaries on China's Tibet policy. Claims that China is committing cultural genocide or other sinister deeds in Tibet are gross misrepresentations of reality. At the same time, Western observers refuse to recognise China's efforts and success in modernising Tibet. Innocent readers simply lap up such falsehoods.

Unfair views on China's Tibet policy are allowed to flourish in the West because they fit pervasive sinophobic sentiments. In Western opinion, China, as the only communist country that seems to have succeeded, poses a threat that could perturb the current Western dominance. Deemed inimical to Western interests for this reason, China has long been subjected to disproportionate criticisms and demonisation in Western media reports and US Congress speeches.

Given this political reality, it is not hard to understand why Western opinion on China's Tibet policy is the way it is. Unfortunately, in this unfair world where might is right, Western observers have managed to peddle their views on China and Tibet the world over.

Yin Bin

California, USA

http://forums.delphiforums.com/sunkopitiam/messages?msg=24801.1

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