Invincible Summer
23rd February 2010, 22:06
From: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Google+will+pave+freedom+China+Dalai+Lama/2596147/story.html
By Lisa Baertlein, ReutersFebruary 22, 2010
The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, said the United States and other countries could help his campaign for a free Tibet by promoting an open society in China.
"Censorship ... is the source of the problem," the Dalai Lama said Saturday in Beverly Hills.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He now lives in exile in India and advocates "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet within China.
"The Chinese people have no opportunity to know our issue," said the Buddhist monk, who Beijing has branded as a dangerous separatist for demanding Tibetan self-determination.
"Once China becomes an open society -- freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of information -- all this unnecessary fear and doubt will reduce," he said. "That's the real answer for this problem.
"Americans can help in this change," he said, adding the lack of free information has helped the Chinese government portray him as a demon and a terrorist.
"Do I look like a demon?" the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize joked, holding his fingers beside his head to make horns.
The Dalai Lama, who was to speak on behalf of Whole Child International, an organization that works for orphans around the world, said Western search engines like Google were important such as the free flow of information within China. He noted they had ceded to pressure from the Communist government there to limit what users can see. Google last month threatened to pull out of China if the government did not agree to stop censoring its Chineselanguage service.
The Dalai Lama's visit to Los Angeles came on the heels of his low-key meeting Thursday with U.S. President Barack Obama, which upset Beijing. Obama used his first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama to press China to preserve Tibetan identity and respect human rights in the region, which has been under Chinese rule since 1950.
The Dalai Lama was reluctant to predict what impact the meeting would have.
He is basically saying that the West (spearheaded by the US and Google, nonetheless) needs to intervene in China's censorship policies in order to create "freedom" in China.
And by "freedom," he really means "protecting my own self-interest." He even says:
"The Chinese people have no opportunity to know our issue," said the Buddhist monk, who Beijing has branded as a dangerous separatist for demanding Tibetan self-determination.
"Once China becomes an open society -- freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of information -- all this unnecessary fear and doubt will reduce," he said. "That's the real answer for this problem.
"Americans can help in this change," he said, adding the lack of free information has helped the Chinese government portray him as a demon and a terrorist.
"Do I look like a demon?" the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize joked, holding his fingers beside his head to make horns.
Although I'm not entirely fond of the censorship in China, I think what the Dalai Lama is calling for is pretty selfish and a weak attempt at disguising his support for Western imperialism for his own gain. He hides behind his Nobel Peace Prize and laughable cult of personality of hippies and "spiritual" middle-class individuals.
Thoughts?
By Lisa Baertlein, ReutersFebruary 22, 2010
The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, said the United States and other countries could help his campaign for a free Tibet by promoting an open society in China.
"Censorship ... is the source of the problem," the Dalai Lama said Saturday in Beverly Hills.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He now lives in exile in India and advocates "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet within China.
"The Chinese people have no opportunity to know our issue," said the Buddhist monk, who Beijing has branded as a dangerous separatist for demanding Tibetan self-determination.
"Once China becomes an open society -- freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of information -- all this unnecessary fear and doubt will reduce," he said. "That's the real answer for this problem.
"Americans can help in this change," he said, adding the lack of free information has helped the Chinese government portray him as a demon and a terrorist.
"Do I look like a demon?" the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize joked, holding his fingers beside his head to make horns.
The Dalai Lama, who was to speak on behalf of Whole Child International, an organization that works for orphans around the world, said Western search engines like Google were important such as the free flow of information within China. He noted they had ceded to pressure from the Communist government there to limit what users can see. Google last month threatened to pull out of China if the government did not agree to stop censoring its Chineselanguage service.
The Dalai Lama's visit to Los Angeles came on the heels of his low-key meeting Thursday with U.S. President Barack Obama, which upset Beijing. Obama used his first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama to press China to preserve Tibetan identity and respect human rights in the region, which has been under Chinese rule since 1950.
The Dalai Lama was reluctant to predict what impact the meeting would have.
He is basically saying that the West (spearheaded by the US and Google, nonetheless) needs to intervene in China's censorship policies in order to create "freedom" in China.
And by "freedom," he really means "protecting my own self-interest." He even says:
"The Chinese people have no opportunity to know our issue," said the Buddhist monk, who Beijing has branded as a dangerous separatist for demanding Tibetan self-determination.
"Once China becomes an open society -- freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of information -- all this unnecessary fear and doubt will reduce," he said. "That's the real answer for this problem.
"Americans can help in this change," he said, adding the lack of free information has helped the Chinese government portray him as a demon and a terrorist.
"Do I look like a demon?" the winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize joked, holding his fingers beside his head to make horns.
Although I'm not entirely fond of the censorship in China, I think what the Dalai Lama is calling for is pretty selfish and a weak attempt at disguising his support for Western imperialism for his own gain. He hides behind his Nobel Peace Prize and laughable cult of personality of hippies and "spiritual" middle-class individuals.
Thoughts?