Fenian420

Haha, I loled.....

And to what others were talking about with the taking action thing;

China has 1 billion people but that also doesnt mean that they have alot more government officials and workers to handle those 1 billion people or whatever the population is at currently... The only reason why (I think atleast) that these riots havent gotten to the point where theyre the LA riots and any type of inner rebellion is because the Chinese government restricts so much learning and knowledge of the outside world that finding out how to use guerilla tatics is pointless since they probably wouldnt ever be able to even find out what a pipe bomb is. China resisted to foreign trade in the 1600s and whatever else it was which introduced british imperialism to China in order to force trade upon them. China got drugged up and ransacked, you cant really blame them for not allowing foreign stuff to get into China all that much especially since now China and other world powers' technologies is alot closer compared to how it was when they tried to resist the british empire.
Same thing happened to Japan except Japan looked at China as an example and they decided to let foreign trade in.. Japan is flourishing now and its just this tiny island compared to China... Maybe its time for China to look at whats going on around the world and change its government policies.. Thats my own take on this anyways.

Lucky Shot

Ok, so we wag our finger. Bad! BAD China!!! All fixed.

Lucky Shot

JAMerica

Hit them where it hurts and avoid buying goods made in China. Your personal lead content may also decrease.

__________________

--------------------------------------------
Jamerius (Feral Druid)

War.mongeR1

I have a feeling we will do absolutely nothing about this. We'll be as effective as Hans Blix.

From Team America: World Police:

__________________
"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

Switch

I said, for starters....

The first step is admitting there is a problem... true for drug addicts, true for government reform.

__________________
|TG|Switch

Better known as:
That noob who crashed the chopper.
That noob who ran over the mine.
That noob who TK'd me with a sniper rifle.
That noob who hit that APC at 300m with light AT! Our APC...

Steeler

There is one school of thought that says that we should "encourage the moderates" within China by not challenging the nation on hot button issues like Taiwan, Tibet, or other human rights abuses of which we disapprove. The argument goes that increasing pressure from our government or "westerners" in general increases the standing of communist hardliners and actually leads to more oppression. This has been official US policy since Nixon. It also serves to link our two economies and resist a Sino-Russian alliance. It has also not gotten very much done in terms of abuses, as the hard-liners tend to respond aggressively to even the slightest pressure, whether exerted by the US directly or by third-party westerners, the Dalai Lama (seen as an ally of the west), or even Hollywood movies.

Another school of thought suggests that we can make diplomatic "trades" - increased economic favors for demonstrable social change within China. This has also proved fairly anemic, as we are linked in joint economic dependency at this point and cannot believably withhold favorable economic policies without damaging our own economy.

Then there is the activism of shame. The idea that embarassing China on the world stage will compel the party to adopt more progressive, libertarian principles. The upcoming Olympics provides a strong test case for this idea. I have my doubts that this will work overtly, however it is possible to influence the inner party using the court of world opinion, if only by nudging them in the right direction.

A lot of activism relies on the assumption that sunshine cast on China's practices will mobilize the average citizen to take action and demand change, such as occurred in Tiananmen Square. However, generations of propaganda and programmed loyalty to the state, along with the underlying racism against the Tibetan people make that a tough sell.

Lastly, Americans and other westerners can make the conscious decision to work against the prevailing economic assumptions by boycotting Chinese products. This is the drop in the bucket response, but it is something YOU can do to work toward a noble goal.

__________________

War.mongeR1

Agreed. A well thought out and written post IMO.

__________________
"Common sense is not so common." -Voltaire

Fenian420

Same as War monger, though (like others said) it would be pretty hard to stop trade with China all together, much of the US depends on trade with China since they make the cheapest stuff.. that would also mean the government would have to step in telling all American business' that they can no longer trade with China, although I do like the idea and China would definitely get the point.

AMosely

I've sent my letters, Steeler. I've sent them before regarding both China's human rights violations on their own citizens as well as their illegal occupation of Tibet. These latest developments certainly bring an increased sense of urgency and, with hope, change.

I recall a documentary I saw many months ago, unfortunately I don't recall what the outlet was but I beleive it was a 'Frontline World' segment. It documented the new passenger rail service from China to Tibet (the world's highest), and the 'hospitality' installations that China had made in Lhasa. Sadly but fascinatingly, China seems to be trying to bottle up Tibetan culture in order to promote it as a tourism industry - not entirely dissimilar to the American West and Native American culture - architecture and symbolism. While there certainly isn't a 'Disneyland Navajo world,' just take a walk around the Denver International airport and see how long it takes you to spot Native American 'crafts' for sale. While in some cases the sale of the objects benefits tribal members on a reservation, more often than not the goods ironically come from China.

Of course we won't be seeing much more of this or any kind of journalism as long as China upholds a media blackout of Tibet. This act alone is outrageous.

The Prime Minister of Britian, Gordon Brown, announced that he will meet with the Dalai Lama in May. For those asking what America's political figures can do in support of Tibet, this is a prime example. Bush has met with the Dalai Lama once, I believe, on American soil. This annoyed the Chinese, and is one of the few admirable things that I think Bush has done. He should follow in Brown's footsteps, or at least send an official representative during this time of crisis. It is equally important that America show support for Tibet and disdain towards China for their actions in Tibet as well as in Darfur.

Steeler

Thanks to those who sent letters. China is now releasing press reports explaining their position on recent events. This should be interesting.

__________________