Monday, March 9, 2009

Setting the Record Straight

On the eve of China's takeover of Tibet, the government has launched a new website to try to sway people's thinking of the disputed area.

In Chinese it's called www.tibet328.cn, with 328 meaning March 28, Serf Emancipation Day, the first year it's being marked.

China is eager to show it released Tibetan serfs from slavery, living in squalid conditions and how the lamas physically abused them, reportedly gouging their eyes out as punishment or using human skins.

It's Beijing's public relations attempt to show that China has done a lot of good for Tibet in the past 50 years.

The website, about Tibet human rights, lists numerous statistics to show how much Tibet has improved economically, while also quoting foreign experts on Tibet.

But is this site, also available in French and German as well as Chinese, really going to sway the outside world?

The issue is so polarized that it's hard to see how a website will change opinion.

Only through transparency and talking in good faith with the Dalai Lama will things ever move forward.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I do not know if the website will sway opinion. Some people are immune to peaky things like historical events and facts. However, many may be displeased to discover they have been brainwashed, and not by the pinky commie Chinese government. Some folks believe in the People's Right to Know.