An article entitled Exposed: Beijing's failure in Tibet by John Garnaut, Herald Correspondent in Beijing has highlighted some interesting revelations but neglected the bigger picture or explain the motivations behind them. Random interviews may not fully capture the more complexities of human thinking and the context they are spoken.
In life, some prefer to lead a simple lifestyle, others would value highly material wellbeing, education and modern lifestyle and getting inspiration from either modernisation policies of the central government or living overseas or in the west. Is there a right or wrong choice? At different stages of one's life, some pursuits are perceived as more important than others - material or spiritual.
What do studies in UK of ethnic and religious minorities show? Despite claims of treating minorities equally and having the most desirable democratic system and modern living, mutual suspicion and antagonisms continue to hinder assimiliation.
The fact that a controversial study could be published shows that there is openness of discussion through peaceful channels in a matured and non-violent manner.
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The report, which is controversial for having been written by a group of Beijing scholars, says private-sector jobs went to ethnic Han Chinese from other provinces, and public money flowed into the pockets of a new elite which systematically portrayed community discontent as "separatism".
"They use every opportunity to play the separatism card," says Phun Tshogs Dbang Rjyal, a founder of the Communist Party in Tibet, who is quoted in the report.
"And they will try hard to apportion responsibility on 'overseas hostile forces' because this is the way to consolidate their interests and status and eventually bring them more power and resources."
The fieldwork was conducted by four Peking University journalism students who travelled to Lhasa and a Tibetan region of Gansu province in July.
It was written and recently published on the internet by the Open Constitution Initiative, a non-government organisation run by lawyers and intellectuals in Beijing.
The uprising that embroiled much of the Tibetan plateau from March 14 last year is considered one of the most serious challenges to Communist Party rule since 1949.
The report's existence defies a government propaganda and security blitz that exile groups say has led to hundreds of ethnic Tibetans being killed and thousands being incarcerated.
Authorities have blamed the violence on Tibetan "criminals", "hostile foreign forces" and "the Dalai Lama clique".
Xu Zhiyong, a human rights lawyer who helped prepare the report, said he hoped it would be picked up by Chinese media, but he held little hope that it would influence government officials.
But ethnic Tibetans are nevertheless heartened that a balanced account of the causes of last year's uprising can now exist in China.
The spartan way of life may appeal to some. The mantra that communist is abhorent could be a myth if many Tibetans pine for memories under strict communist rule.
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Perhaps most surprisingly to outsiders, the report describes how many Tibetans have fond memories of the first three decades of Communist Party rule.
"The investigation study team found lots of Tibetan families are still hanging Mao's portrait … in their homes," it says.
Paradoxically, that vanished after Beijing switched from revolution to reform in the 1970s.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/expose ... 68756.html
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