MillenniumPost
Editorial

Dragon's eye poses threat to Tibet

With rising Chinese oppression and its failure to get adequate international support, the Tibetan movement for survival and autonomy is steadily losing visibility. Upset with the indifferent attitude of the international community and the United States towards this most afflicted nonviolent resistance movement, the Tibetan government-in-exile had no option other than to convene a first-of-its-kind conference, named Five-Fifty Forum, recently, to outline their future plans. This included a five-year plan for pursuing a return to dialogue and negotiations with China. The delegates vowed that if that plan could not be achieved within a stipulated span of time, the Tibetans would plan for another 50 years of resistance to China's occupation, systematic repression and attempted cultural genocide in Tibet. Notably, the nationalist Tibetans are neither seeking ethnic purity like the militant Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar nor demanding a separate state like the Kurds in Iraq. The Tibetan leadership-in-exile at Dharmashala in India is pursuing a proverbial 'middle-way approach' of their deity Lord Buddha that seeks limited autonomy within the Chinese system. Tibet is ranked second in the list of the least free places in the world, by Freedom House. Despite this, it does not make enough ripples in the global media, whereas Syria and North Korea continue to dominate the headlines, thanks to the threat of terrorism and nuclear war. One reason for this can be attributed to the mode of resistance adopted by the Tibetans. On the other hand, China is keeping its dragon's eye on the Tibetan Plateau with all the possible measures, including the advanced electronic surveillance and deployment of spies. Chinese President Xi Jinping's belief that security and stability in Tibet is his goal, is causing a fatal impact on the Tibetans. Not only that, President Trump has also ignored the issues of human rights and nonviolent movements in Tibet. This, despite the fact that the Tibet issue could provide the pressure point that Trump has been seeking in his dealings with Beijing. Economic leverage hasn't worked to influence China's calculus on matters such as North Korea, but adding the Tibet issue to the US-China agenda would attract the Chinese leadership's attention.
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