Peaceful lake, unpeaceful Tibet

One of my friends who once worked as a volunteer in Tibet, recently came to see me in Xiamen and told about his experiences in Tibet. We knew each other in high school and kept connection even after I graduated from Nankai. Although we are close friends, it's interesting that we have no common ground on political issues.
The difference between me and him is that, he called the western human rights researchers and activists the "anti-china forces", but I still keep hopes for western concepts of freedom and democracy, which I thought will reshape china and make great changes to Chinese people, including improve the spirits and mental outlook, and also increase the productivity which is largely depended on the diversity, etc.. I need to tell you that he worked in the Propaganda Department in a district government. The most notorious department in China is the Propaganda Department, which is always set to control the thoughts of people and once critisized by a professor Jiao Guobiao from Bejing University. He said to me, if someone ask which department you served, he didn't tell the exact department, because he didn't want to be despised if someone known his duty. So even this guy know what the impression made on the general people. I like him, despite we have quite different views on politics and always argue with an unhappy ending. I have ever discussed one an issue about Tibetan's life on such a long distance phone call for one hour, caused debt down of my cell phone; I never made such a long time phone call with another, especially with a man. Frankly, I don't like his job. The government wants to maintain one-party ruling, so it must keep a large group of thougt polices to be used as the mouthpieces. Even in his working unit (danwei), the department is divided into several divisions, a team with large figures, so you can image how huge the number of people work for the party's ideology.

He told me his daily job was to write something good for the party and show the foreigners with the good side of Tibant's life. He don't like the foreign reporters, in his words, those guys are discribed as stunborn, without an eye to see and an ear to listen. Everyday, he must do THE same job repeatedly, write THE article resembled with THE one written THE day before. If there come foreign journalists, he and his colleague will lead them to the places which are designated by the government. Normally, the reports aren't interested in the places where they will be led to, so the circumstance was always quite unhappy. I think he was greatly infuenced by officialism, because he always used a bureaucratic tone to talk to me.

"when i read Dalai Lama's book, I think he is a good guy, but he had run into a wrong track; he shouldn't transform himself from a religion servant to a politician", "the policy to the Tibetans from the central government is quite good, if I was a Tibetan, I wouldn't consider independency", "there was no slaughts on Tibetans when the Liberal Army entered the Tibet"

I must clarify the following points on what he had said:

1. Dalai Lama can be seen as a hero for Tibetans. Because Tibet is a place for religion, when the atheist communist party began to brainwash the Tibetans, as the leader, everyone will consider to separte from this nation. At least, my friend mistook the order. If not suppression from communism, Dalai wouldn't have been forced to make such consideration. Why Tibet is relative quite before 1949. The Communist Party should clearly know that no one can replace Dalai & his infleunce will never have an end to the Tibetans.

2. If the policy to the Tibetans is quite well, why there are so many people ignore, i think the Tibetans are not stupid. They are strong believers, but the communist party designate their spirit leader, they think they are humiliated. I feel quite strange that how can a atheist party designate religion leaders, such as for Christians.

3. Even Han people were not well treated during that terrible years, how could they be such merciful when they broke into the Tibet?

The Olympic Game comes close and close. The issue of Tibet is increasingly discussed. And I heard of that there was monk demonstration in Lhasa. Actually, I don't agree with independency of Tibet, but I hope the party will make some practical actions to improve the human rights status quo in this region. At least, they must release THE hands from controlling THE religion there.

This guy not only brought his stories to my ears, but also took some beautiful pictures to my eyes. On the left, the photos were taken at Namtso Lake. I never seen such beautiful place in my life time. THE sky is so blue and THE water in THE Lake is so clear through which you can see THE stones. In THE polluted China, it's THE last heaven. I should go to there to have a look.