Tibet's Struggle: Silence, Solidarity and Global Intervention

605 Words2 Pages

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemy, but the silence of our friends.” This famous quote by Dr Martin Luther King rings true to this day, especially for the Tibetans. I am a Tibetan, exiled from my own country. I am three generations removed from the Chinese government’s invasion and occupation of Tibet. I grew up in India, and my family fled to the United States in search of a better future. There is a Tibetan saying of exile, "Every Tibetan born after 1949 was born an activist" so I like to think that the blood flowing through my veins are symbolic of the struggle and solidarity of my people. As of today, more than one hundred and thirty brothers and sisters of mine have set themselves on fire in protest against China’s
China isn’t a land of democracy, therefore, there is no such thing as rule of law, freedom of speech and free press. China is a bully, they bully their own people, the Tibetan people and now they are bullying our government into silence. Our leaders are allowing themselves to be bullied. Many countries have met with the Dalai Lama, who is widely respected for his teaching of compassion, peace and humanity, and have agreed to speak of Tibet to the Chinese government. However, no actions have been taken ever since President Obama met with Dalai Lama. Our government’s actions have not spoken louder than our words. China is very similar to the big bad wolf, they huff and puff with threats, yet they are empty and futile because China doesn’t really want to punish our leaders because they need our business. Countries must act together instead of individually in accordance with our shared values and democratic principles. It’s not just the right thing to do but it’s a smart thing to do. The combined voices of many of the world’s leaders have a much greater likelihood of securing concession from China. Beijing will finally feel the pressure to work towards resolving the crisis in Tibet and the multilateral nature of this approach provides our government with greater protection from China’s punity of reaction. For Tibetans the situation has been more critical and for the World the solution has never

Show More
Related

  • Cesar Chavez Speech Summary

    118 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the speech that Cesar chavez presented himself at a mexican american celebration conference talks about of how he sees the church and mexican americans together. Also Chavez was committed to carry out his movement with no violence toward the crowd who doubted him and movement, but others did try violence on them and did not succeed on bring them down. He also had brought this speech towards the public during his 25 days of spiritual fast and had talked about mexican americans and the church and how they are related.Using imagery,metaphors,and repetition, Chavez hoped his speech would bring people together through rough times using the church and their faith to give them hope for a better future.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Terrible Things By Eve Bunting

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” (Elie Wiesel)

    Read More

  • The Warning of Fahrenheit 451

    1320 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Dalai Lama expresses the importance of publicity that has first been generated by the Tibetan Freedom Concert. Not only did it create awareness for the Chinese as the Dalai Lama suggested; it also created awareness around the world, especially in North America. Ask any North American teenager,"What they feel towards the idea of Tibetan oppression from the Chinese?", just ask him "Where Tibet is?" three years ago and he would probably look confused and answer by asking "Would you like fries with that?".<THIS MADE VERY LITTLE SENSE.> Ask that same teenager now, and he would likely give an educated response. The Tibetan Freedom Concert is just an example of how powerful modern media is if it can be used properly.

    Read More

  • Night: Theme Essay

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    This theme has actually been noted by Elie Wiesel, and in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, has said “silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

    Read More

  • Elie Wiesel Persuasive Speech

    533 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I am obsessed with silence because of the silence of the world. I do not understand why the world was silent when we needed its outcry. I always come back to that problem. Where were the humanists, the leaders, the liberals, the spokesmen for mankind? The victims needed them. If they had spoken up, the slaughtered would not have succeeded in his task.” - Elie Wiesel

    Read More

  • William Peace Speech

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Special Olympics date back all the way to the year 1968. Many see these Games as a time to honor someone who is able to “overcome” a task, but author William Peace sees this as an insulting portrayal of people with disabilities. Peace is a multidisciplinary school teacher and scholar that uses a wheel chair and writes about the science behind disabilities and handicaps. As a physically handicapped individual, Peace is able to observe a negative portrayal of disabled persons. In his article titled, “Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability, and Adaptive Sports,” William Peace offers his own personal insight, utilizes several statistics regarding handicaps, as well as numerous rhetorical appeals in order to communicate to the “common man”

    Read More

  • Devotion, Ideology, and Evil Cults: Persecution of the Falun Gong by the Chinese Government

    3187 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Communist Party of China (CCP), in power since 1950, is not famous for its tolerance of those who do not agree with its ideology and opinion. People must adhere to the Party’s legislation, and face consequences (the severity of which is debated) if they resist or rebel. One way the CCP controls members is through religion. Although the government encourages almost cult-like devotion to the Party, it allows its constituents to participate in certain major international religions. One religion that is illegal to participate in under Chinese law is the spiritual practice of Falun Gong. A new movement, the Falun Gong grew quickly in China and globally, and was officially banned in 1999. The CCP claims the Falun Gong is evil, and should be destroyed humanely to save China. However, the Falun Gong is peaceful, and the Chinese government is the institution that tortures, jails, and abuses its citizens if they are practitioners of the religion. The international response calls for the halting of these immoral actions, but China still claims that it is destroying an evil institution. The simple fact China denies its members freedom of religion violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which China has signed, but the violence against its people if they adhere to Falun Gong beliefs is a gross abuse of its power. Although China bans many religions, there is special emphasis on the Falun Gong, and many wonder why. One highly possible reason is that the growth, international reach, and popularity of the Falun Gong threatens the universal power the CCP holds in China, weakening the government, and therefore leading to the destruction of the threat: the Falun Gong.

    Read More

  • Is China's Claim to Tibet Justified?

    2098 Words  | 5 Pages

    As much as I would like to take a neutral approach to the Tibetan-Chinese issue, I am concerned it is simply impossible. I remember when I first read Patric French's “Tibet, Tibet. A personal history of a lost land”. I was in my dorm room up all night, shivers constantly running down my spine, from time to time tears running down the cheeks too, I have to confess. Back then I did not know what exactly was going on in this remote and mysterious country, apart from that it is under Chinese occupation and the people are looking for liberation.* But when I read the book I instantly empathized with the story of Tibet. This is probably due to the fact that Estonia, my home country, once was in a similar desperate situation, being succumbed to the power of the Eastern neighbor. Luckily for Estonia, she managed to gain independence from Russia in 1918 though it officially had belonged to the Russian Empire as the Governorate of Estonia since the end of the Great Northern War, 1721 by the treaty of Nystad. Thus, it is even more intriguing, why Tibet, which has never by any kind of treaty or agreement belonged to China1, is still under the foreign rule and has to struggle for independence?

    Read More

  • Celebrities and their Tibet

    1717 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before any of these questions can be answered though, one must first know the origin of the conflicts between the two regions as well as the history of the Free Tibetan Movement. As said above, Tibet used to be a place that not many people knew about. This made it much easier for the Chinese government to come in and take control of the people and the land without much protest from the outside world. In fact even if other countries, like bordering India, had known, not much would have been done. This is because no nation had ever recognized Tibet as an independent country. Rather, it was the events that followed which caused the uproar. According to defected citizens of Tibet that traveled to India and then dispersed throughout the world, the Chinese started a form of spiritual cleansing. Monks and spiritual leaders that would not follow their ground rules were detained, captured or killed. The lama's of the Tibetan people were either taken as political prisoners or exiled. However, there are also those that said that some of this never happened.

    Read More

  • The Tibetan Genocide

    4115 Words  | 9 Pages

    The Chinese have repeatedly tortured, imprisoned, and murdered Tibetans all for what they claim is national unity. While the oppression of the Tibetan people began in the 1950’s with the invasion of China, it continues just as strongly today. From religious oppression and unfair trials to the torture of nuns and monks, the Chinese abuse even the most reverent aspects of Tibetan culture. Political prisoners, whether they are monks, nuns or lay people, are tortured with utter disregard for human rights. Chinese laws have also been established to eradicate the Tibetan people entirely. Women often must endure forced abortions and sterilization due to Chinese birth policies. Through all of these crimes against humanity, China repeatedly commits acts of genocide as established by the United Nations.

    Read More

  • The Enforcement of International Law

    4713 Words  | 10 Pages

    Members of The United Nations have a duty “to maintain international peace…in conformity with the principles of justice and international law.”[1] China, a core member of the United Nations since its formation in 1945, fails to comply with international human rights’ norms set forth by The United Nations Charter. This failure is noticeably prevalent in the practices of the Chinese Legal System. Its judicial proceedings in handling peaceful, political dissenters fail to provide the minimum protection of human rights guaranteed to all through international law. By examining accounts of Tibetans detained for such peaceful protests, this paper will set out to highlight the discrepancies between Chinese enforcement of international law in theory and in practice. Before this paper goes any further, the notion of international law must be explained. Providing a better understanding of international law will make easier the task of highlighting China’s struggles with enforcing such standards.

    Read More

  • Mcleod Ganj Journey

    393 Words  | 1 Pages

    For the first week and a half, I stayed with a local family in the town of Mcleod Ganj, home of thousands of Tibetan Refugees. During this time I worked at the LHA institution teaching young women English. The first day was a tidal wave of new experiences. The small crowded streets that led to the local library were filled with busy markets, people selling handmade beads for only 5 cents, and stray dogs living in abandoned crates and boxes. Trash filled the streets, tainting the air with a putrid and foul smelling odor. There were beggars on the side of

    Read More

  • Google And The Government Of China

    1782 Words  | 4 Pages

    Interests: China’s leaders desire to improve their nation’s economy while preserving political stability. They want to censor political discussions to prevent “westernization” of China,

    Read More

  • China's Foreign Policy

    498 Words  | 1 Pages

    Since the initial warming of U.S.-China relations in the early 1970’s, policymakers have had difficulty balancing conflicting U.S. policy concerns in the People’s Republic of China. In the strange world of diplomacy between the two, nothing is predictable. From Nixon to Clinton, presidents have had to reconcile security and human rights concerns with the corporate desire for expanded economic relations between the two countries. Nixon established ties with Mao Zedong’s brutal regime in 1972. And today Clinton’s administration is trying to influence China’s course from within a close economic and diplomatic relationship.

    Read More

  • Leadership Speech

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. A leader is someone who sets direction in an effort or task and influences or motivates people to follow that direction. The power point presentation explains leadership is the influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of others in an organizational context.

    Read More

More about Tibet's Struggle: Silence, Solidarity and Global Intervention

Open Document