Mission & Justice

Iman Kurdi; 12/4/08

There are people we do business with and people we invite to dinner. And there are countries we sign billion-dollar contracts with and others we welcome to the club of “civilized” nations. This seems to be the emerging philosophy of the West toward China. Politicians, celebrities and individuals with a vocal conscience find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they want trade and commercial ties with China, because quite frankly they can’t afford not to, but on the other, they feel squeamish and uncomfortable when they are seen to be supporting a government whose human rights record is below par. And of course, this applies not just to China but to a whole gamut of countries who have systems of government that are not quite the full flavor required by Western democratic palates but just happen to have wealth and natural resources which make them a natural and necessary ally. You can call it hypocrisy or you can call it pragmatism. It all depends on where you sit.

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Ashling O’Connor; 12/4/08

Athelete’s displaying Tibetan flags at Olympic venues - including in their own rooms - could be expelled from the Beijing Games under anti-propaganda rules. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said competitors were free to express their political views but faced sanctions if they indulged in propaganda. His comments accompanied his admission that the Games were in “crisis” after pro-Tibet protests engulfed the Olympic torch relay. Mr Rogge’s call for Beijing to abide by its promise to address human rights was given short shrift by Beijing, which bluntly told him to keep politics out of the Games.

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Mary Beth Markey; 4/08
Ancient cultural and religious ties are coming undone. See; http://www.feer.com/
Asia’s Fight for Web Rights; Rebecca MacKinnon; 4/08; http://www.feer.com/
Reaping Tibet’s Whirlwind; Andrew Martin Fischer; 4/08; http://www.feer.com/
From the Archives – 1959 Tibetan Insurgency; 4/08; http://www.feer.com/

Book Reviews - Offered Free on; http://www.feer.com/
Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule; Tubten Khetsun;Columbis University Press; Book Review: Rick Carew; 4/08; Far Eastern Economic Review
Riots, Pogroms,Jihad: John T Sidel, Cornell University Press; Review: Sadanand Dhume; 4/08; Far Eastern Economic Review
Chinese Foreign Relations:Power and Policy Since the ColdWar; Robert G. Sutter;Rowan & Littlefield Inc.; Review: John Frakenstein

Greg Sheridan; 10/4/08

Kevin Rudd has handled a difficult assignment in China with courage and integrity. This was never more evident than in his comments about Tibet to students at Beijing University yesterday. The trip’s structure overemphasises China, creating an added burden in managing relations. That leg of the trip has been dominated by China’s recent brutal crackdown in Tibet, and the resultant international protests against the Olympic torch as it makes its way towards Beijing. Rudd began the trip with honesty at his joint press conference with US President George W. Bush. Before Bush did so, Rudd raised Tibet and said it was plain that there were human rights abuses being carried out by China against Tibetans and that China should engage in dialogue with Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

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Mary-Anne Toy; 10/4/08

Monks at a leading monastery in Gansu province yesterday interrupted another Chinese Government trip that was meant to show the world that the Tibetan unrest that has forced Beijing to send thousands of armed police to lock down much of western China is now under control. More than 15 monks rushed onto the main courtyard of the Labrang monastery in Xiahe carrying a picture of the banned Dalai Lama and a Tibetan flag to intercept a group of 20 Chinese and foreign journalists on a government-controlled trip. Journalists have been banned from travelling independently to Tibet and other Tibetan-populated regions of China.

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Dennis Shanahan; 10/4/08

Kevin Rudd has confronted China over its record in Tibet, citing “significant human rights problems” on the eve of his keymeeting with Premier Wen Jiabao. Mr Rudd’s forthright criticism, in his first speech in China as Prime Minister, earned an immediate rebuke from senior Chinese officials, who said his claims on Tibet were “totally unfounded”. The blunt exchange thrust Tibet to the forefront of relations, overshadowing Mr Rudd’s first visit to Australia’s biggest trading partner as tensions rise over spiralling commodity prices.

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Paul Maley; 10/4/08

The Chinese “flame attendants” who have clashed with protesters during the Olympic torch relay in Europe are crack paramilitaries selected from special Chinese police units chosen for their martial arts skills and marksmanship. As the International Olympic Committee moved yesterday to douse rumours that the remaining legs of the international torch relay might be cancelled because of the violent protests that have dogged its passage in London and Paris, new details emerged about the Chinese guards of the flame. “The 29th Olympic Games Torch Relay Flame Protection Unit” is made up of about 30 young men from an elite paramilitary squad whose job, when not guarding the Olympic flame, is to control riots, protect diplomats and ensure “domestic stability”.

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Sandra O’Malley; 9/4/08

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s blunt message that there are significant human rights problems in Tibet has been labelled “totally unfounded” by Chinese officials. Speaking in Mandarin to hundreds of Chinese students, Mr Rudd said Australians were concerned about the situation in Tibet, where Chinese forces have mounted a bloody crackdown on dissidents. Chinese officials reacted angrily during a press conference televised live across the nation, calling Mr Rudd’s comments totally unfounded.

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Maria Hawthorne & Sandra O’Malley; 9/4/08

Pro-Tibet protesters are planning to turn their backs on the Olympic torch during its Australian relay leg this month in a peaceful protest to be broadcast live around the world. Callers to talkback radio stations around the country suggested the non-violent action following chaotic scenes in Paris this week. Activist group GetUp endorsed the plan, saying a peaceful protest would be much more effective than any form of violence. “It’s perfectly legitimate that these things should take place in a democracy like Australia, but it should take place in a peaceful way,” GetUp spokesman Ed Coper said.

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Jacquelin Magnay; 9/4/08

It is a hallmark of our democracy that Australians can freely, but peacefully, protest: bring on the Beijing Olympic torch relay, I say. When I saw the images of the torch relay runners being wrestled to the ground in London and the flame extinguished in Paris, I was saddened at the violence, but not surprised at the attention. For the Olympic flame, which will arrive in Canberra on April 24, is not an affirmation of China’s political policies but a forerunner to celebrating the very best of human endeavours at the Olympic Games in August.

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