Little Free in Tibet

Amid the recent eruption of violent Tibetan protests and the subsequent violent Chinese response, one thing remains perfectly clear. That what is truly happening in China may never be clear. With the Chinese banning foreign news agencies from reporting within the region, suspending foreign travel into Tibet, and further blocking untraditional information sources like YouTube from being accessed within China, claims that 100 or more Tibetans have been killed are yet to be confirmed. As Reuters has reported in a timeline of the past week's events, protests that started in Lhasa have now spread around the world. Meanwhile the Chinese appear to stand by their assertion that the Dalai Lama, recipient of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, has orchestrated the protests from India. National Public Radio reported this morning that the exiled head of state has now asserted that if the Tibetans escalate the violence he will step down as their governmental leader from India. In the Reuters footage below, the Dalai Lama reiterates those claims.

    The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, said in a news conference that the protests are being carried out by the Tibetans in hopes of sabotaging the Beijing Olympics this summer. However, given the protests aimed at China's connection to the genocidal government of Sudan, the air quality concerns in Beijing which have already resulted in one world record holder withdrawing from Olympic competition, the plans to close Mount Everest to expeditions while the Chinese attempt to summit with the Olympic torch in hand, and the fears of food quality and safety in China that are prompting the U.S. Olympic Committee to ship food in for all U.S. athletes during the games, the Chinese appear to be sabotaging the Olympics just fine on their own.

--Jason Kerkmans