Tibetan woes

Read an interesting article on the recent Tibet protests. Tibetans razed Han Chinese and Muslim business in Lhasa. making bonfires of goods from yak sides to toys (with child looters helping themselves to the latter).

Why would the holdings of private citizens and not symbols of the oppressors, like government buildings or CCP monuments be attacked? One can easily conclude that perhaps Tibet's woes are more closely linked to economic development and wealth distribution rather than religious oppression and "cultural genocide".

In Lhasa, the vast majority of shopkeepers are Han Chinese and the meat markets are all but controlled by the Muslim immigrants. Imagine the international outrage if Sydneysiders started looting Korean shops because they had a monopoly on kimchi in Sydney? Or New Yorkers burning Jewish bakeries to protest the latter's control of the bagel industry?

However, the Dalai Lama, and I suppose by extension Tibetan citizens, is internationally regarded as a leader of such lofty moral principles that we mere mortals can do nought but stare in adulation and accept everything as truth.

All this, to me at least, smacks of xenophobia. Opponents of the central government (which exempts Tibet from taxation and provides 90% of Tibet's government expenditure) fear that the Han Chinese and their popular culture will extinguish the local culture. Never mind that they bring in juicy wads of cash to spend on their vacations, albeit at Han Chinese stores. But hey, if you want a slice of that action you go open your own store. After all, the tourists didn't come to see Chinese living in Tibet. They came to see Tibetans and will be more than happy to part with their cash. And obviously one doesn't construct the tallest building in town by burning down the others.

Either way, the Chinese government needs to do something about this situation. The original riots were not handled in typical Chinese style (think Tiananmen) but rioters were left to their own devices with security forces slowly tightening the noose. Perhaps, with Rudd pushing the issue with the central government an understanding can be reached.