(Ibid.) As a result, life expectancy in pre-1950 Tibet was thirty-six years; 95% of Tibetans were illiterate and a similar percentage of the population was hereditary serfs and slaves owned by monasteries and nobles. (Hessler, 1999)
In such a back drop, Mao's Communism, which promised the emancipation and rule of the poorest peasants, ought to have been embraced with open arms by the Tibetan peasants. The fact that it took almost a decade, after the initial foray of the Communists into Tibet in 1951, to do so was mainly due to two reasons. The first was the recognition of the special status of Tibet by the Chinese Communist leadership and its slow introduction of social and economic reforms in the region leaving the ruling elite intact; the second was the deep rooted deference for religion among the Tibetans combined with a complete absence of the tradition of class revolt in Tibet. However, when China decided to take direct control of Tibet after the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion and targeted the monasteries and the monks for "special attention," the erstwhile deeply religious poor Tibetans joined their new masters in the brutal destruction of the Buddhist temples all over Tibet. The ferocity with which the Tibetan population destroyed their previous deeply revered places of worship has surprised many analysts; according to Lixiong, it was a case of 'rotation of gods' -- Mao Zedong had replaced the Dalai Lama as the god in their minds as he had proved more powerful.
All of above, does not mean that the Tibetan masses did not suffer under the Chinese Communist rule, particularly during the Cultural Revolution. It is recognized by most people, including the Chinese officials, that the ultra-leftist policies of the Cultural Revolution inflicted tremendous human and economic damage on Tibet. But the damage caused was the result of a misplaced and over-zealous policy relying on the disastrous concept of peoples' communes and centralized control that also applied to the rest of China; it was not a case of deliberate persecution of the Tibetans by the Han Chinese, as alleged by the supporters of Tibet's independence. After the death of Mao and the coming to power of moderates such as...
In each of these cases, the impact of the countries' relative geographic proximity should not be underestimated. Countries like Britain and France, or Holland and England, had significant land to gain from the other and this was a main reason for their conflicts. The only instance in which a rising power usurped the existing power without war resulting was when the United States overthrew Britain; this example is more analogous
Tibetan culture and language had always been distinct, yet had always been linked to China -- while the Dali Lama was seen as a worthy one for whom gifts and alms were necessary and the Manchu Emperor was also seen as a revered figure worthy of respect and lay patron, but not a spiritual teacher (Goldstein & Rimpoche 44). But although it shares some cultural ties and history with China,
S. For its weapons sales to Taiwan. (Janbo) It must also be noted that China's Naval expansion is a departure from what many experts conjectured in the recent past. Like many before, Lee Lai To commented just a few years ago that China, regardless of its even then obvious desire to expand its naval might would be very unlikely to challenge the U.S. In any significant way. To argues that: "U.S. military
But India could catch up if it successfully encouraged private companies to compete and survive, put a check on poorly performing financial institutions and those yielding to political compromises. These measures could help boost India's savings and investment. On the other hand, China also needed to catch up with India's institutional strength (Prime). But both continue to be plagued with respective problems. China continues to suffer from serious situations, such
America's engagement with China, with historic ice-breaking between the two countries carried out by Henry Kissinger, has been complicated. I would suggest that it were the U.S. domestic preoccupations and compulsions that did not allow me to take any bold stance on the issue of Dalai Lama. I disagree with notion that U.S. betrayed the cause of human rights while not choosing to visit Dalai Lama. It must not be
12). Six weeks after that public relations disaster for RC2 Toys, other toy company, Fisher-Price, was obliged to recall "nearly 1 million of its most popular character toys, also because of lead paint," Field continues. Not long after those embarrassing recalls, Mattel and Fisher-Price announced "three more recalls from China" (Field, 12). When an adult item is recalled, it doesn't make as big a negative splash as when items for
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