Re: tibet

I too have been at somewhat of a loss on what to do or think or say about the China/ Tibet situation. Last fall I spent 8 weeks in China and wish that I had made more of an effort to visit Tibet then as I know that it has drastically changed in the past 6 months. The issues surrounding the cultural, political, ethical, and environmental landscape there are so huge it’s hard to imagine how this is all happening with the rest of the world just watching. While at the same time, describing China as huge is an understatement. I remember very often wandering the streets of Beijing and thinking that me recycling my bottles and newspapers was useless, and that the problems are so gigantic it’s hard to imagine even starting to actually tackle them. For me, I’m very back and forth about the Olympics in Beijing. I’m a big supporter of the Olympics in general and I’m always very fascinated by the games. One positive outcome from having the Olympics in Beijing is that it is creating awareness about what’s going on. If more people stop and say “wait, why are they protesting the torch?” then more people will know what’s going on. Getting (accurate) news in and out of China is always difficult. I don’t think I ever fully realized what freedom of speech meant until I was in China and was blocked from Wikipedia, You Tube, and others. There are drastic differences in how China reports on the journey of the torch and the rest of the world does. Even more disturbing is the recent reports of the “Re-Education” of Tibetans. Recently I went to China Design Now at the V&A in London and was appalled by it. Firstly the cost of admission – 8 pounds ($16 US) that could feed a family of 5 in China for a day, maybe even 2 days. Second – I don’t think the curators left the airport as the work in the show could have been chosen from the airport design and gift shops. High end, trendy, utopic …. Third – the wall text. While wall text usually is problematic this all seemed like it came right from the government. There was absolutely no mention what so ever of Mau, the Cultural Revolution, or the current political landscape. Rather there were statements like “private architecture firms have grown in the past 10 years”… (yes, and why???) Not a single mention of over crowding, pollution, or living conditions. Urg, I could go on… So it’s true… what do you do?... Some days I’m very energetic and hopeful to change the world, and others the problems seem so huge it’s impossible to stop. I’ve said before that you can’t understand what’s going on there until you go and see for yourself. But even after spending 8 weeks in cities and country sides in China I’m not sure I understand either?