China lowers curtain
Filed Under Kitchen Curtain | Posted on March 27, 2008
Protests in Tibet have turned into riots in the past two weeks, prompting the Chinese government to lower the curtain on all outside media. Only China’s own state-sanctioned “official media†has been allowed to portray the riots and police action taken against Tibetan protesters. They have placed blame for the uprisings squarely on the shoulders of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, describing him as a “wolf in monk’s clothing.†This is par for course. The Chinese government has become infamous in its attempts to demonize the Dalai Lama, often throwing about insults and vaguely threatening proclamations to those sympathetic to the Tibetan plight.
China wasted no time in stamping out dissidents, all the while attempting to emerge from the fiasco smelling like a rose. And with the Chinese government’s vice-grip on the media, they may do a fair job of it. By banning foreign press, they’ve made it almost impossible to find out what’s actually going on in the region. Official Chinese statements say the death-toll is somewhere in the lower twenties, and all the fault of Tibetan rioters. Reports from Tibetans Rights groups claim the death-toll is much higher, totaling almost 140 thus far.
China is attempting to manipulate everyone outside of its border with its own brand of propaganda, painting itself as the reluctant guardian, forced to put its foot down on hateful Tibetans in order to keep the peace. Tibetans, were they not cowed into silence by Chinese military forces, would surely tell a different story. The Tibet Daily reported that the national police chief said monks would be subjected to “patriotic education†classes. According to a CNN article, the “education†consists of forcing the monks to denounce the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader and declare loyalty to the communist government.
China has, within the past several days, allowed a small group of foreign press into the area, leading them by the hand, essentially leading them around in safe tours of the area. At night, reporters are asked to remain in their motel rooms for their own safety.
This country, a police state, is the same country that will be hosting the 2008 Olympics in a matter of months. This begs the question: What will happen when China starts to lose the events? Will the government enact another blackout until competitions can be properly staged to fit its propaganda?
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