北京投资八百亿在新疆推动普通话教育

5/31/2010


新疆自治区公布了一项新的措施，未来十年大力推广普通话教育，以维护新疆的“长治久安”。

在新疆全面推广汉语普通话教育的具体方案，由新疆自治区政府5月27日正式公布。方案要求，到2012年，全新疆所有幼儿园都应当普及维语和普通话的双语教育，到2015年，新疆所有中小学都要达到这一目标。该方案还规定，到2020年，所有的学生都必须说流利的维语和汉语。

新华社报道说，中国教育部宣布，将在未来五年内为发展新疆的教育，额外拨款八百亿元人民币，这相当于中央政府每年向新疆财政拨款三百亿的两倍多。
旅居加拿大的维族人士土尔逊认为，北京的这个新政策值得欢迎。

“值得欢迎，因为我们在中国共产党的统治之下，我们学汉语不会有太大的问题，应该学。但是一定要保留让我们能继续能学我们自己的语言。这我欢迎，这是代表我个人。”

一直以来，新疆的学校分为维语学校和汉语学校。许多少数民族家长为了孩子以后能够找到好的工作，会支持孩子报考汉语学校，在新疆简称为“民考汉”。土尔逊介绍说，由于汉语难学，所以大部分民考汉的学生难以完成学业。

“汉语是很难学的，你也知道汉文是最难学的一个语言了。所以一般学汉语有50%的人他继续读不下去又转到维族学校去了。只有50%左右能继续读下去。一直读到高中毕业。有的考上大学。”

土尔逊认为，重要的是，双语教育必须全面，汉语学校是否能真正推广维语教育，恐怕是真正的问题。他认为，目前许多维族知识分子失业，可以大量聘请他们为教师。

“要在当地工作，服务汉人也要学习维语的话，那么就叫做双语。十几年来因为他歧视当地的少数民族，他不招工嘛，大批的大学生现在是无业。只要能把中专和大学读完了，少数民族他们的汉语程度和维语程度都应该是很好的，就能胜任这些双语教育啊什么之类的，完全没问题的。不一定要内地调一些师资力量来。”

新疆的官员表示，目前新疆就业市场竞争日趋激烈，维族等少数民族青少年从小学习汉语，有助于他们提高就业的竞争能力。新华社的报道引述一些学者的话说，在新疆大力推行普通话教育，是政府为保证新疆长治久安采取的重要步骤。

不过，旅居瑞典的世界维吾尔大会代表迪里夏提则认为，中国在新疆推广汉语，是北京在新疆实行全面汉化的一部分：

“我们不反对学汉语，但是中国政府为了达到同化的目的，重点的除了采用镇压以外，在宗教上面采取这种系统性的清除消灭维吾尔人的信仰；另一方面就是在文化上，其目的就是要同化，使维吾尔民族根本就在地球上消失。中国认为维吾尔的语言是导致当地落后的因素，而从未检讨过自己在当地所推行的经济垄断包括压制、打击的这种政策。因此在文化上一直就没有停止过摧残。现在维吾尔的知识分子保护维吾尔的文化已成为他们的最高使命。”

迪里夏提表示，北京如果不反思过去数十年的新疆政策，不真正尊重维族的文化、传统和宗教信仰，而只是投资大量金钱和推动汉语教育，新疆的长治久安不可能实现

Yulshul In My Heart

Free Tibet.

Yulshul In My Heart

Yushu Earthquake: An Untold Story

5/26/2010

I am a school teacher and came to Xining, the capital of Qinhai Province, yesterday. I have witnessed the earthquake in Yushu.

At 5 am of May 14, while I was asleep, my bed started to shake, and then it shook so heavily that it almost threw me to the floor. I was startled. What was going on? Could this be an earthquake? I waited for a while and it became quiet. It was still dark out and no human voices or dogs barking could be heard. I fell asleep again because I was so tired. In my heart, I knew something was not right. I got up, put on my clothes and had a few puffs of my cigarette. Suddenly I was thrown onto the floor by the earthquake. I jumped up to open the door but could not. I rushed to the window, broke the window pane with a hammer and jumped into the yard. I could not see anything because of the thick dust.

Earthquake in Yushu—not like the reporting on TV

I am giving my first hand account of what happened during the earthquake. First of all, I want to clarify that the earthquake was not like what was reported on TV: It is not true that very few people died; it is not true that they were working hard to dig out the victims; it is not true that people had plenty of food and water; it is not true that they worked till midnight to save the victims. They are telling lies and the rescue operation only started slowly after Premier Wen Jiabao went there.
Many people were buried when the earthquake hit Yushu. Unlike the reporting on TV, only 1/3 of houses collapsed instead of 85%. But all the mud houses collapsed. What appeared on TV were houses in the center of the city.

At least 3,000 people died, that was what I saw. Many families were buried entirely and no one paid any attention to those people and no one recorded that either. I had witnessed at least 3,000 victims. Not everything in the report was true; some were made up stories.

No Food, No Water, No Help

When the earthquake hit, the three story dorm totally collapsed and all the students were buried. We started to dig them out but could not move the concrete rubble. We found the rescue team but they did not come until afternoon. When they did arrive, they only came with one forklift truck and did nothing. After sundown, not a single person was rescued.

Our neighboring families were buried, but we did not have time to help them. For two days, we were hurrying to dig out our own relatives, with hand shovels and wooden poles. On TV, they said that more than 6,000 people were saved. But the rescue team dug out very few people, mostly we dug out our relatives.

We put the victims on the horse race track. Because we used up all the medical supplies from school, we put the victims together. Some of them, we put on the trucks and covered them with quilts. At night, we found some wood pieces from the collapsed houses and burned them to keep warm.

Rescue Team Put on a Show

At 2:00am I rode my motorcycle back to town. In the city I saw the rescue team still working to save people, but I was angry at the fact that only a few people were working, while a lot of rescue team members spent their time chatting and laughing. The locals were telling me, “They were on the building since noon hour. And now it is night and nothing has changed.” They are not saving people but doing a show of saving people.

In addition, many statements made were false. One reporter was telling a lie right in front of us: She said that now it is 2:00am and the rescue team is still working on saving people. Another reporter from a different TV station said that now it is 3am and the rescue team is still working tirelessly to save people. That is a big fat lie! The so-called rescue team, a total less than 10 people, has been on top of a building since lunch hour and has not moved a single stone. The victims under the building were calling for help when suddenly a fire started from inside the building and then was followed by silence. The rescue team did not even try to extinguish the fire!

They were here talking about saving people and did not go anywhere else. My students were all under the collapsed building, but they did not go there. However they said that they went. Honestly, we did not have any rescue team at all.

Plenty of Food and Water for the Rescue Teams but not for the Victims

On May 15, the rescue team did not save any victims. I saw them standing on the same building. At other places, only the locals were saving their relatives or friends. When I rode my motorcycle around the city to look for food, water, tents and quilts, I asked many police for these items. But the police officers all said they had nothing to give away. By then, it was almost noon and the roads were filled with vehicles from adjacent counties. The cars and trucks were loaded with food, tents etc,. Unfortunately, they were all for private usage.

The rescue team stationed above the race track had plenty of food and water. The people from the expedition team, or other rescue teams from certain units, also stayed at the stadium and had plenty food and water. Many families here did not have a tent to sleep in. After I came back from scouting, I found many families were putting up tents. I asked them where they got their tents. They said that they robbed others. By then the street was blocked with vehicles and all the goods on the pickups and trucks were being taken.

Later on, I rode the motorcycle around, but I did not see any more trucks with goods because of the traffic jam. Nothing was moving.

Looking for Food from a Heap of Rubble

In the afternoon, we dug out some food from a heap of rubble. Some people even robbed the supermarket and small merchants from the city. A friend of mine from Xining called and asked me about the earthquake. I told him that we had nothing to eat. However, food was a small matter. More serious, was the lack of drinking water. Everyone was very thirsty including the patients. Some people got polluted river water and boiled it for drinking after the water was somewhat settled. We drank very little and gave most of the water to the patients.

The media said that food was not a problem. And that was a lie. We did not see food or water. Some people were lucky enough to rob a truck but most of us had nothing. All we had was what we dug out from the rubble.

The presence of Special Police Forces

At night, there were many special police officers present to direct traffic. The traffic started to move at 12:00pm but the whole day was wasted due to the traffic jams. Because of that, no victims had been rescued.

My students were still under a building. And many people were under collapsed buildings. When I went to the intersection again, I saw some places that had military units and rescue teams, but very few people. The team that was on top of a building was asked to get off by police declaring that a high level official was coming. Soon the roads were cleared. An hour later, Premier Wen Jiabao came. At that point the rescue operation started to move slowly.

The Coming of Premier Wen Jiabao

On May 16, the third day after the earthquake, at 7:00am the special police force was there to watch the roads and make sure no more traffic jams developed. But where were they yesterday when the traffic jam blocked the roads for an entire day? They only showed up because the the premier had arrived.

My students have been buried for two days. But we are too weak to help and so are many of their parents.

I won't show the pictures and the video. I don't want to lose my job. Who knows, they may even put me in jail. My family needs me now more than ever.

只因和老师顶嘴 小学生被老师活活打死

2010-05-28

安徽省亳州市谯城区道东小学六年级学生徐奥，在教室里和班主任顶了两句嘴，班主任候老师就抓住徐奥的头发往身上猛踢，致使徐奥摔倒，头部撞墙，造成徐奥头颅内血肿，在随后的几日内，病情严重恶化，头颅内大面积出血，经西安第四军医大西京医院抢救无效，于10年5 月20号去世，一个12岁少年的生命就这样丧于“育人子弟”的老师手中，其母亲由于失子心痛，心脏病发作也在医院进行抢救，虽然已经报案，但警方如今也没有任何措施，据说校方上面有人，当地媒体也不敢报道，试问公道何在?天理何在?
4月28日上午11点左右，侯晓阳老师在道东小学六年级二班上语文课。快放学的时候，侯老师问徐奥：“你订报纸的钱咋还不交?”
徐奥说：“就是不交。”侯老师说：“你再唧唧一句?”徐奥说：“我就唧唧你能咋着我?”这时，侯老师“扑哧”一脚把徐奥的课桌跺坏了，课桌正好挤在徐奥的上腹部，只听徐奥“啊)的一声，眼前一片漆黑，趴在被侯老师跺毁的课桌上。接着，侯老师走到徐奥跟前，抓住徐奥的衣领从座位上拎了出来，然后朝徐奥的后腿弯猛踢一脚，徐奥后脑勺着地，头部流血，晕过去起不来了。侯老师见状，不
但没有收手，把徐奥拉起来，又连扇两记耳光，还抓住徐奥的头发往墙上连撞两次，徐奥再次昏倒在地。当时，徐奥的头部多处流血，两耳红肿，一只耳朵有两只耳朵加起来那么厚。侯老师还是不肯罢手，又把徐奥拉起来，又跺一脚，徐奥又一次昏倒在地。这时，徐老师的鞋掉了，把鞋穿上之后又跺一脚，徐奥倒在地上再也起不来了。几分钟后，侯老师把徐奥扶到在座位上，哄他回家后不让跟家长说。放学后，侯老师让几位同学带他回家。
徐奥的家住在亳州市经济开发区木兰新村。徐奥的冰棺放置在大门外，一家人哭成一片。
徐奥的父亲徐建立哭泣着，“孩子从学校回来后，捂着肚子一个劲儿地哭，还吵着头痛头晕，我问清咋回事以后，看他的后脑勺有一处大血包，头部左边有两处大血包，头部右边有一处大血包，右肩部有出血点，左腿关节外伤性红肿。
接着，我就和家属领着孩子去找校长葛杰，当时葛校长连看也不看，家属就说，你有没有儿女?这时，葛校长才看了一眼。
然后，我们和侯老师一起，带着孩子到亳州市人民医院做了CT，由于CT片子一时拿不出来，孩子又没住院，我们只好回到道东小学，在学校附近的魏园村卫生室吊几瓶消炎水。等CT结果出来之后，才知道问题的严重性，就在亳州市人民医院住下了。住院3天，葛校长一直没露面，还对外说我儿子是血管瘤，不是打的。
由于孩子的病情不见好转，5月1号我们转院到合肥，那里的专家也不敢确诊，建议我们去西安第四军医大学西京医院治疗。5月13 号，我们来到西京医院做了CT和X线摄影。CT检验报告单诊断意见上说，我儿子根本不是什么血管瘤，是右侧额顶脑出血灶及脑室内积血，颅内动脉血管未见明显异常畸形，血肿周缘动脉受压、移位。
X线摄影检查报告单诊断意见上说，右中肺野感染，并膨胀不良。得出这样的诊断结果后，我跟葛校长打电话，葛校长却置之不理，要我去找她的法律顾问，后来我又跟她打了三次电话，老师校长都没去。5月13号下午2点40分抢救无效，就……，
孩子在去世前还跟我说，俺爸，我想上学，可是被候老师打成这样，我没脸再去上学，俺老师连句道歉的话也没有……”

中国精神病患者超过一亿 1600万重症患者

大纪元5月29日讯】据官方统计，中国各类精神疾病患者人数在1亿人以上，其中，重性精神病患人数已超过1600万。但公众对精神疾病的知晓率不足5成，就诊率更低。
据《了望》周刊29日报导，5月19日，云南省沾益县盘江镇龙凤村精神病患者茹某用自制梭镖杀死本村村民一人，砍伤两人。
5月23日，广西柳州市柳江县里雍镇红花村精神病患者张某打人，致一死二伤。而这已是张某四年内第二次行凶。2006年8月，张某打死自己的母亲，其妻因劝阻被他用刀砍成重伤，送医院抢救无效身亡，14岁的女儿也被他砍中，还有一村民也挨了他一刀。
5月26日，黑龙江省大庆市龙凤区一男子用剪刀杀死12岁女儿的同学丁某，又杀死自己13岁的女儿，然后从自家五楼阳台上跳下身亡。据警方透露，该男子生前患有精神病。
精神疾病患者人数逾亿
中国疾病预防控制中心精神卫生中心2009年初公布的数据显示，中国各类精神疾病患者人数在1亿人以上，但公众对精神疾病的知晓率不足5成，就诊率更低。另有研究数据显示，重性精神病患人数已超过1600万。
按照国际上衡量健康状况的伤残调整生命指标评价各类疾病的总负担，精神疾患在中国疾病总负担的排名中居首位，已超过了心脑血管、呼吸系统及恶性肿瘤等疾患。各类精神问题约占疾病总负担的1/5，即占全部疾病和外伤所致残疾及劳动力丧失的1/5，预计到2020年，这一比率将升至1/4。
专家指出，从一般心理障碍到严重精神疾患之间，还有一段距离。他们中的许多人，平常看起来和常人毫无二致，但这并不意味着完全健康。当其中一些人面临就业、婚姻、子女、养老等生存压力时，其无助和挫折都可能成为一触即发的“引信”，瞬间点燃“炸药包”。
专家分析，目前，诱发精神疾病的因素增多，例如生活节奏的加快导致社会普遍的心理紧张，价值观念混乱甚至解体造成普遍的无所适从感，社会严重分化造成的心理失衡，以及人的期望与实际的落差增加等，种种因素造成当前中国精神疾病患者人数不断攀升。
危害社会的精神病人占94.1%
北京安定医院精神疾病司法鉴定科通过对1984年至1996年共13年间的 1515例精神病刑事鉴定案分析得出结论：在接受刑事被告精神鉴定案的1515例中，患有精神疾病者1248例，约占82%。而这些精神病人所实施的社会危害行为，以侵犯人身、侵犯财产和妨害社会管理秩序三者为主，共占94.1%。而如果精神分裂症实施社会危害行为，发生人身伤害事件的可能性将会在50% 以上。
在大多数情况下，重性精神病人肇事惹祸之前，没有专门机构对其行为进行监管，也没有相关救治经费。一旦肇事惹祸，公安部门会将其送往医疗机构进行精神鉴定。如果确定当事人在肇事惹祸期间不能辨认或控制自己的行为，将不负刑事责任并被遣送回家，形成精神病人肇事“事前没人管，事后也没人管”的局面。
一些病人家属称，重性精神疾病患者如果住院治疗，每年至少需要数万元；即使采取“家庭病床”治疗，每年最少也需1万元。由于治疗费用高昂，加之被病人几年甚至十几年和几十年的消耗，大多数家庭已一贫如洗，就连享受医保的病人家庭也无力承担入院门槛费和门诊自付部份，更别说大部份病人没有医保。

Be Cool—Be Tibetan

By Therang Buengu

In my life there have been a few rare occasions when I wished I were younger. Such futile sentiments are usually followed by a mixture of nostalgia and regret. Sitting now in a coffee shop, watching the Tibetan pop vocal group Yudruk perform Milam, I am struck by these feelings once again. I wish I were experiencing this as a younger man. I wish I had had the chance to be cool and be Tibetan when I was a young college student in Beijing.

In those days, I struggled to express who I wanted to be. Looking back, I can see that I was searching for a way to be “cool” and be Tibetan at the same time. Of course, back then, the term cool didn’t exist, either in Tibetan or Chinese. And whatever it was, “coolness” was the last thing associated with Tibetans in the Chinese imagination. As a young Tibetan who grew up in the Chinese education system, we didn’t yet know how to live outside Chinese imagination.

I still vividly remember my first journey into the Chinese heartland. In the barren city of Golmud in the Tsaidam desert, I had a conversation with my fellow Tibetan travelers—all freshmen headed to college— about how to be a Tibetan in this new land where we would spend the next four years. One student had already been to China as a soccer player. He told us that we needed to carry a Tibetan knife and act a little savage. For some reason, there happened to be an abundance of Tibetan knives to buy in the dusty market of Golmud. I think I was the only one who did not rush to buy a knife. I just couldn't picture myself with a big Tibetan knife dangling at my waist, swaggering around the Chinese capital.

I was dreaming of something else—of finding a way to be both Tibetan and modern.

But soon after we arrived, I found out that in China's national imagination there was no space for me to be both. Who I could be was already predetermined.

From the early days of China’s rule in Tibet, a dark and savage image of Tibetans was created and propagated: dark skinned, greasy, barbaric and in need of civilization and liberation. This image became widespread through the mute character Champa in the classic film Nongnu. As the story goes, when the People’s Liberation Army finally liberated Champa from his slave master, this man who hadn’t spoken for years cried out in gratitude, “Long live Chairman Mao!” That caricature not only became ingrained in China's national imagination, it also became an integral part of modern China's national narrative.

In fact, in the mad drama of contemporary China, there were only two sanctioned Tibetan characters scripted by the Party. We had the option of being either the pre-liberation savage or the post-liberation political sycophant, indebted to the Party for rescuing us from ourselves.

Most of us were too smart and too proud to play the post-liberation sycophant. So that left us with the role of savages. Back in Tibet, we tended to be quiet, mild-mannered, even nerdy students. But in China we became street fighters. We brawled in restaurants and beat up other students in school. Everyone pretended to be frightened of us and we pretended we were untamed wild men. We were Tibetan.

Meanwhile my dream of becoming a cool, modern Tibetan remained shrouded in the distance.

Nowadays, I understand that Tibetan college students in China have their own set of challenges in being Tibetan. But as the story of China becomes more diverse and complicated, Tibetans are also coming out from the shadow of the liberation narrative. There are now extraordinarily conflicting images of Tibetans settling into the Chinese mind. Now we are rioters, learned Buddhist scholars, corrupt party bosses, smart college kids, the best looking man in China, stubborn religious fanatics—and of course, we are also cool like the four young men of Yudruk.

The Yudruk phenomenon shows not only that Tibetans can be cool, but that it is cool to be Tibetan. This is a radical shift. But not only does it show a kind of Tibetanness that is on the cutting edge of cool. It also makes it clear that a Tibetan image can be created and exist entirely outside of the Chinese imagination. This is a kind of Tibetanness that was made by and for Tibetans.

Last night I had a beautiful dream,
I dreamed about Bod, the Land of Snow
Dream about five colors of the flowers bloomed
Dream about blue dragon land on grand

As I watch these intensely Tibetan and coolly hip young performers, I can see that they have a new audience in mind: other young Tibetans. They are no longer just trying to fit into the Chinese national story; instead they are creating their own.

It is a new cultural moment, and I am excited about what new possibilities this might offer young Tibetans. They are starting to have the chance to be many things and at same time still be Tibetan. Still at the same time, I also feel a tug of sadness for my own lost youth, wandering in the shadow of oppressive stories that I could not control and yet found hard to escape.

“There will be new schools and there will be new homes!”

5.27.2010

During the early stage of the Cultural Revolution in China, all cities across the country often showed the film produced by the former Soviet Union: “Lenin in 1918”. In the film there is a scene that has “Iron Felix” Dzerzhinsky with an girl he adopted. Lenin comforted her by saying, “Yes, there will be bread and there will be milk.”

When Hu Jintao visited Yushu, the earthquake disaster area, and comforted the earthquake victims, he did something similar. He wrote on a blackboard in a damaged school, “Yes, there will be new schools and there will be new homes.”

Yet for years under Lenin's reign, people saw neither bread nor milk. Only in the middle of the 20th century, because of a new short-term economic policy, could one see bread and milk for sale in the market. However when cooperatives were implemented during Lenin’s rule, the bread and milk were gone. They did not reappear in the markets until 1953, after the death of Stalin when Khrushchev became the first Party secretary. After Khrushchev held meetings concerning agriculture and animal husbandry and recognized the principles of material interests, the shortages of bread and milk were totally resolved. But that was 40 years after the October revolution of the Soviet Union.

These days in China we have bread, genetically modified rice, and milk, however due to shoddy construction methods, the schools collapsed during the earthquakes. Just as the earthquake victims from Wenchuan, Sichuan got their new homes and schools, the Yushu earthquake came. There are over 2000 counties in China. No one knows for sure how many shoddy houses and school buildings there are. Where will the next earthquake be? Will the next group of victims get new homes and schools too? I posted my idea for the only way to ensure the safety of all middle and elementary schoolchildren in China on the web: Move the people from all the government buildings to the worst school buildings. Of course such a suggestion will never be heeded. I believe that Hu Jintao will continue to write, “Yes, there will be new schools and there will be new homes.”

玉树的“当代村”

发布者：赵牧博客 - 5月27日


来源：赵牧博客
转自：维色博客

我在玉树了解到，在玉树生活的人大体可分三类。

1、本地人（绝大多数为藏族）；

2、外来做各种生意的人（以四川人居多）；

3、 “移民”——是指因为三江源环境保护等各种原因，从玉树其他牧区迁移到结古寺地区生活的藏族牧民。

5月17日，我在玉树仔细观察了一个 “移民部落”，陪我前往的藏族小伙尼玛说这地方他们管它叫“当代”，但不是一个行政区划意义上“村”。为了便于理解，这里权且就叫“当代村”吧，至少从尼玛的介绍来看，这个移民聚集区的形态已经有“村落”的味道。

在当代村拍了很多照片——很显然，依山而建的整个当代村建筑完全毁掉了。从玉树县政府那里我们了解到，在结古寺周边，目前已经在规划中要重建的较大的“移民部落”有五个，最小的也有二百多户。这五个地方全都得完全推倒重建了。

这些“移民部落”重建的难点是，原住民“贫富不一”，原有住房大小不一，他们各自对重建的建筑面积大小的要求，自己能支付的那部分资金的能力也不一样。因此用一个整齐划一的方案来实施“整村推进”的重建，根本不可能。

三次去汶川，其中第二次和第三次观察的重点是“重建”的难点与实际进展。

去玉树之前，我曾下意识认为，玉树重建要比汶川重建容易得多。理由是，绝对受灾人口和面积都要比汶川少得多。

到了玉树极重灾区的结古寺，发现情况并非如此。也就是说，若以同等受灾人口、面积相比，重建玉树的困难比汶川大得多。这主要表现在以下几个方面：

一、建材全部要靠外运，成本惊人。我们在玉树州委了解到，光是建材从西宁运至玉树850公里的运输成本，就使得玉树重建的每平方米价格高达1600元。这比汶川600-700元一平方米的价格高出了1000元！

二、汶川重建，面临山区平地难寻的重重困难，玉树乃弹丸之地，而且也是山谷之间，人口更是密集，腾挪空间少得可怜。这个将在另文中叙述；

三、几乎百分之百的建筑都要推倒重来。玉树地震一个月后，我们把结古寺的上上下下跑了个遍，感觉在这个狭小的空间，重型机械不够，也缺乏施展的空间。废墟处理的进度感比汶川慢得多；

四、由于地处海拔3600米的高原，无霜冻的施工期很短，只有五六个月，在时间上为重建造成了巨大麻烦；

五、玉树人口的民族分布是藏族占97%，其他为汉回等族。因此尊重藏族同胞的生活习惯，包括他们对本民族传统建筑的样式格局偏好的尊重，这决定了不可能用一张或几张建筑图纸就能进行“批处理”，这更是玉树重建的难中之难。
发贴者 Woeser 时间： 下午9:27

China’s wealth gap exceeds globally recognized warning level

05/22/2010

On May 10, 2010, China’s official Xinhua News Agency published a news story titled, “China’s wealth gap approaches society’s tolerance limit.” The news immediately received widespread attention on the Internet, attracting comments from thousands of readers. Numerous comments pointed out that the corruption of government officials and poorly-designed regulations contribute to the growing disparity of wealth distribution in China.

High income families’ hidden income close to 5 trillion yuan ($714 billion USD)

According to Wang Xiaolu, Deputy Director at the National Economic Research Institute, China Reform Foundation, they conducted a study on the incomes of 2,000 families from various levels of society. The study showed that a portion of the high income residents have large amounts of hidden income. This unaccounted income was estimated to be as high as 4.8 trillion yuan ($686 billion USD), of which 75% is owned by 10% of high wealth families in cities. The small number of families having immense incomes is staggering. Because hidden income and illegal income are not part of the government’s statistics, experts believe that China’s real wealth gap is much larger than reported.

Majority of the rich are government officials; corruption is already an “unspoken rule”

The paper Formosa Weekly reported in February 2010 that a large proportion of China’s rich are children of high-ranking government officials. There are 3,220 individuals with net wealth over 100 million yuan ($14 million USD), of which 2932 are children of high-ranking officials. The main source of their wealth is derived from their family backgrounds. According to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, there were 18,191 cases of significant corruption and bribery in 2009. Readers pointed out that income disparity is not due to ability or diligence, it is due to the rank of an individual and the Communist system that allows this to happen.

China’s wealth gap exceeds globally recognized warning level

China’s Academy of Social Sciences published the Annual Report of China’s Social Development at the end of 2009. It estimated that China’s Gini Coefficient had reached 0.496, drastically above the World Bank’s recognized warning level of 0.4. The Gini Coefficient is the most commonly used measure of wealth inequality in the world. Its values range between 0 and 1, with 1 representing the widest wealth gap possible.

A reader wrote, “The Academy’s report uses numbers and facts to refute those so-called ‘experts’, who claim that China does not have any issues with wealth inequality. It is the Chinese Communist government that deliberately conceals the truth to deceive the public in order to create a fake harmonious society.”

China Galaxy Securities economist, Yuan Dejun, also expressed, “We can feel the widening wealth gap in our everyday lives. It has reached the pinnacle of the last few decades.”

Concerns for the future population and survive as nation "Tibet"

Choni Tsultrim

5/25/2010

A beautiful picture thousands of monks and nuns on face book, and of course much more interested monks pictures and videos in youtub westrener are madly loved check out. Do these pictures and videos tell us anything?

I would say "yes" They captured my attention and recalled me some of issue that we Tibetans are facing today. Population decreasing. No matter what ethnical back ground or race to continue sustain or survive under somebody else’s influencing of culture, language, religion, way of life and even believe and faith is so much more danger than nature disaster like Earth Quack or anything else.

In Tibet case, we all know that we are struggling to maintain our ethical identity, religion, culture and much more that I don’t even need to repeat here. But because China has been practicing birth control in Tibet, most of areas Tibetan families are allow to have one child specially those who are working in verity different offices with name of government staff and families are living in urban area are on child policy. Some cases parents are fined thousands of Yuans (人民币), faced imprisonment and even suicide.

But what about Tibetans living in free world? Do we need think about to survive as nation, nationality and much more? Have this ever concerns you of population decreasing every year.
Here are six factors why our population is dramatically decreased for last couple of years:

1) One child policy in Tibet.
2) Fear of fine and imprisonment or lose job and position in office.
3) Families don’t have resource to support kids.
4) Thousands of Monks and nuns across the country contributed huge influence of population decreasing.
5) Facing world’s most populated country China with 1,337,700,000 population naturally losing purity of Tibetan identity.
6) keep send kids to monasteries and nunneries to sustain monastic communities.

Are there similar facts for the Tibetans living free world?

I got chance to talk to more than ten people from different back ground but grew up in free societies. They all agreed upon one thing that is they don’t have the resources to support multiple kids or be a plurality family. I am not sure is that right word to describe however with job, family, kids, and so much more that they will not be able to support multiple kids, specially Tibetans are living developing countries.

I am so totally understand all these Tibetans telling me about don’t have enough money and resources to supports pluralism but we have to understand that this is not a problem only Tibetans facing rather to acknowledge entire world is facing same problem.

It’s been clear Tibetans inside Tibet have no choice but to follow Chinese oppressive regime stay on one child policy. The question is Tibetans in free world keep excuse above reasons and ignore even if schools are becoming empty and closing , monasteries and nunnery are also facing closing in so many areas in Tibet and in exile communities.

What about 50 years later if we continue to ignore our population decreasing and keep all the kids freely allow to marry whoever they want. Keep put kids in Monasteries and nunneries from earlier age to become monks and nuns. For job and living convenience parents just have a single child. I don’t think China needs waste so much time and energy to sabotage Tibetan culture and identity but we Tibetans are not pay attention enough for our future population to support our unique culture. Without enough population to support our culture and identity alive, there is no need to doubt Tibet will become a written history soon. Therefore, I think Tibetans in free societies needs to take more serious responsibility not just your kids have brothers and sisters to help each other in life but more importantly think about our future survive and I think this is much more important than hold a signs regularly protest in streets.

Two days ago I participated Kalon Tripa and Mr. speaker Penpa Tsering discussion in Armenian Church in New York. This question was asked but there are no specific solution and alternative way to follow through. People are laugh and joke about it during the break. I think we are so behind or so in dark not know how serious population crises we are facing at this critical time.

I know we Tibetans are over sensitive if somebody say something about religion or some other topic that most people are scare to talk about even if we are in free societies. People easily targeted threw stone on them. I don’t want that stone on my head so I just want to clarify some of things that I mentioned in this article that I am not an anti-religious person and I am not against anything on any sets of religion in Tibetan communities. My concern is our future be as a nation with total unique survive on culture, language, every tiny bit aspect of our civilization. For that we need people.

I think there are much more researches need to be done on statistic and find conducive, alternative and best solution on this issue. How we are going to do that? Please drop some lines of your thoughts.

Serious population decreasing

5/25.2010

Choni Tsultrim

A beautiful picture of nearly hundered of thousand monks and nuns receiving teaching from a Buddhist Master XXX on face book captured my attention and recall me some of issue that we Tibetans facing today. Population decreasing. No matter what ethnical back ground or race to continue to sustain or survive under somebody else’s influencing of your own culture, language, religion, way of life and even believe and faith is so much in danger,

In Tibet case, we all know that we are struggling to maintain our ethical identity, religion, culture and much more that I don’t even need to repeat here. But because China has been practicing birth control in Tibet, most of areas Tibetan families are allow to have one child specially those who are working in verity different offices with name of government staff and families are living in urban area are on child policy. Some cases parents are fined thousands of Yuans (人民币), faced imprisonment and even suicide.

But what about Tibetans living in free world? Do we need think about to survive as nation, nationality and much more? Have this ever concerns you of population decreasing every year.
Here are six factors why our population is dramatically decreased for last couple of years:

1) One child policy in Tibet.
2) Fear of fine and imprisonment or lose job and position in office.
3) Families don’t have resource to support kids.
4) Thousands of Monks and nuns across the country contributed huge influence of population decreasing.
5) Facing world’s most populated country China with 1,337,700,000 population naturally losing purity of Tibetan identity.
6) keep send kids to monasteries and nunneries to sustain monastic communities.

Are there similar facts for the Tibetans living free world?

I got chance to talk to more than ten people from different back ground but grew up in free societies. They all agreed upon one thing that is they don’t have the resources to support multiple kids or be a plurality family. I am not sure is that right word to describe however with job, family, kids, and so much more that they will not be able to support multiple kids, specially Tibetans are living developing countries.

I am so totally understand all these Tibetans telling me about don’t have enough money and resources to supports pluralism but we have to understand that this is not a problem only Tibetans facing rather to acknowledge entire world is facing same problem.

It’s been clear Tibetans inside Tibet have no choice but to follow Chinese oppressive regime stay on one child policy. The question is Tibetans in free world keep excuse above reasons and ignore even if schools are becoming empty and closing , monasteries and nunnery are also facing closing in so many areas in Tibet and in exile communities.

What about 50 years later if we continue to ignore our population decreasing and keep all the kids freely allow to marry whoever they want. Keep put kids in Monasteries and nunneries from earlier age to become monks and nuns. For job and living convenience parents just have a single child. I don’t think China needs waste so much time and energy to sabotage Tibetan culture and identity but we Tibetans are not pay attention enough for our future population to support our unique culture. Without enough population to support our culture and identity alive, there is no need to doubt Tibet will become a written history soon. Therefore, I think Tibetans in free societies needs to take more serious responsibility not just your kids have brothers and sisters to help each other in life but more importantly think about our future survive and I think this is much more important than hold a signs regularly protest in streets.

Two days ago I participated Kalon Tripa and Mr. speaker Penpa Tsering discussion in Armenian Church in New York. This question was asked but there are no specific solution and alternative way to follow through. People are laugh and joke about it during the break. I think we are so behind or so in dark not know how serious population crises we are facing at this critical time.

I know we Tibetans are over sensitive if somebody say something about religion or some other topic that most people are scare to talk about even if we are in free societies. People easily targeted threw stone on them. I don’t want that stone on my head so I just want to clarify some of things that I mentioned in this article that I am not an anti-religious person and I am not against anything on any sets of religion in Tibetan communities. My concern is our future be as a nation with total unique survive on culture, language, every tiny bit aspect of our civilization. For that we need people.

I think there are much more researches need to be done on statistic and find conducive, alternative and best solution on this issue. How we are going to do that? Please drop some lines of your thoughts.

HH the Dalai Lama on Middle Way approach.

Free Tibet.

Parachutisme film "Pour un tibet libre"

Free Tibet.

Reach out chinese, said HH the Dalai Lama to Tibetans

Dalai Lama tells overseas Tibetans


Phayul


Dharamsala, May 24 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama has asked overseas Tibetans to reach out to the Chinese people in their localities to win their support in resolving the Tibet issue. The Tibetan leader was speaking Saturday in New York to around 4000 Tibetans including 50 representatives from 11 different Tibetan communities of North America.

He said that in order to resolve the Tibetan problem, it is important that the Tibetans have the understanding and support of the Chinese people so that they can understand the Tibetan point of view.

Welcoming His Holiness at the riverside Church were speaker of the Tibetan Parliament Penpa Tsering, Kalon Tripa Samdhong Rinpoche and Pema Tsewang, President of the local Tibetan Community. His Holiness said the presence of the Speaker and the Kalon Tripa at the gathering was meant to have good discussion on exile Tibetan government’s future course of action with representatives and members of the Tibetan community.

His Holiness said for more than 51 years of Tibetans’ exile the Tibetan people inside Tibet have witnessed an attempt to undermine their religion and culture, and that the voices of the Tibetan people inside Tibet are being crushed with force.

His Holiness said the Tibetans should never forget their basic Tibetan identity whatever their current nationalities are.

His Holiness said education was very important for Tibetan children. He said the Tibetan language must be given special importance by Tibetans living overseas.

His Holiness said that his Middle Way Approach in no way negated the past history but a need was felt to deal with the reality and save the dying Tibetan identity, culture and language under China. He added the Middle Way Approach was not about one side losing and the other side winning but was mutually beneficial.

Thousands Gather to Hear the Dalai Lama

VOA

Adam Phillips

New York Saturday,

22 May 2010

People line up at Radio City Music Hall in New York to hear the Dalai Lama speak.
The Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet, began a three day series of Buddhist teachings Thursday at New York City's famed Radio City Music Hall, which holds nearly 6,000 people.

An atmosphere of joy and camaraderie filled the streets surrounding the venue as people waited to pass through the security checks to attend the Dalai Lama's lecture on meditation and the Buddhist way of life. Those are subjects a beaming young ticketholder, named Mark, says he knows almost nothing about.

"I'm here to check out what he has to say, hear what kind of wisdom he has to share and to do my best to follow it, you know."
Manhattan is a world away from the Himalayan mountain kingdom where the Dalai Lama was born, and where Tibetan Buddhist mind training was developed. But New Yorker Ann Smith feels the message is universal.

"It has helped in the sense that when I have a problem I try to stop and think about the causes of the problems that I've created myself and what I can do to be constructive about it, rather than just venting anger or just being frustrated," says Smith, adding the Dalai Lama's teachings of nonviolence, patience and discipline have been a tremendous help in her daily life.

A gray-haired New Yorker, named Elizabeth, has been standing behind us in line listening and nodding.

"The Dalai Lama has thought a lot about life and he has a healthy, sane approach to the world," she says. "He believes that the way we think causes our problems and if we make our minds clear and calm, the world will be a calmer and saner place."

One lady came to New York from Dallas, Texas - over 2,000 kilometers away - to hear what the 1989 Nobel Peace Laureate had to say.

"He is the epitome of compassion to me. He loves everyone," she says. "And if you notice everyone on this line, they exude peace and tranquility and love and kindness that it's just phenomenal to be around."

Nearby, Gabriel is exuding curiosity.

"I came here for spiritual nourishment, I suppose you could put it that way," he explains. "I want to become more educated in terms of Buddhist scriptures and I think he certainly has been studying them long enough to explain them to lay people. He is a wonderful human being."

A young woman named Whitney expresses hope the upcoming lecture will satisfy her spiritual and her intellectual sides. She says she likes the way the Dalai Lama builds bridges between different peoples and different ways of thinking.

"I think he is a really cool dude. I study neuroscience in college and I love that he is interested in neuroscience and is trying to combine Eastern and Western philosophy and that he has the curiosity about how we think, and he kind of embraces our ideas and he shows us his."

Before long, Whitney and several thousand other attendees have passed through the iconic Art Deco portals of Radio City Music Hall, and taken their seats inside to hear what the Dalai Lama has come to share. After completing his New York lectures, he will continue on to Japan later this month.

Public Discussion with the Kalon Tripa & the Speaker of the TPIE

Choni Tsultrim
5/23/2010


The Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey and Tibetan office co-organized public discussion on verity topic with the Kalon Tripa Prof. Samdhong Rinpoche & the Speaker of the TPIE Mr. Penpa Tsering today at Armenian Church New York City.

The discussion started about 10:00 am this morning. Organizer introduced briefly explained the reasons to organize such discussion and read some of the questions they received on paper and then directly jump onto discussion question answer until1:30PM. Took one hour lunch break and continued to 5:30PM.

Participants are from so many Tibetan communities in North America and specially local community leaders. More than three hundred Tibetans from New York and New Jersey all are so enthusiastically listened and participated in discussion of asking so many different type of questions without hesitation.

There are some people came up just showed appreciation to Kalon Tripa and Mr. speaker, Some people asked questions about religion, culture, green book, education, Jithu and of course H.H’s middle way approach and Tibetan issue with China.

At 5:30Pm Kalon Tripa gave final conclusion speech and organizer thanks all the people helped this public possible and a great day is over.

Tragedy in China, Shocks the Entire Community

5/05/2010

Kan Zhong

Translated by Choni Tsultrim

5/23/2010

On May 8, a homicide case in Jiangxi Province resulted in eight people being killed, including the suspect's own mother and wife. Because of the recent rash of violent crimes, some experts have concluded that one of the causes is the continuing deterioration of social relations.

Zhao Yezhong, the suspect, killed eight people in a row on the evening of May 8 at Badu Town, Jishui County of Jiangxi and then ran away. He was later arrested by police.
The victims include the suspect's 80 years old mother, his wife, and 10-year old daughter. Five other suspects include Zhou's neighbor and an out-of-town laborer. A reporter from Voice of America tried to obtain the most recent development of this case but was told by the officer on duty that it is still under the investigation of security agencies. Further development will be published later by the security department, but the suspect has been arrested.

Deterioration of Social Relationships

Within the last 6 months, violent crimes have happened frequently, including the case in Beijing last November involving young children being killed or hurt in a school yard. The common feature of these cases is the killing of next of kin or innocent children through stabbings.

Killing one's own child and mother is a rare behavior in this world, but why does it happen so frequently in China, a big country with a high GDP? Mr. Hu Xingdou, professor of economics at Beijing Institute of Technology and chairman of the Chinese Sociological Research Association, said, “At present, the social relations continue to deteriorate, and a growing gap between the rich and the poor. Thus the rich and the poor are in more of the opposite stance.”

He added, “Currently, China is a predatory society. You may say that the privileged and the special interest groups are depriving the common people through a variety of means: the strong bullying the weak. Meanwhile, the weaker party is raising a knife to the more vulnerable. In other words, the weaker party has the mentality that he needs to perish together with the entire family or community in order to solve his predicament.”
Demanding Social Justice

Professor Hu believes that taking revenge on the weaker parties is an exhibition of cowardice and selfishness. One should ask society for social justice instead. He stated, “If one is in extreme difficulty, one should ask society for justice and resolve one's own predicament, but not raise a knife to someone weaker and ruin one's own family. These violent cases indicate the deterioration of social relations and also the cowardice and cruelty of human nature.”

Zhou Xiaozheng, professor of sociology of Renmin University in China, thinks that China's wealth distribution and social injustice are the main causes for crimes of violence. Therefore, eradication of social injustice is the key point in eliminating violent crimes in the community.

Train accident killed hundereds

By choni Tsultrim

5/23/2010

One of China‘s fast train jump over curb and killed so many people and injured
hundreds this morning 2:10 AM. The train NO# K859 is express bound from Shanghi to Queling. Chinese official said it has been continue of heavy rain for the last couple of days made railway so slippery and unstable, some area even railroads sought into the flooded rain water and led this express train to accident.

美联社：达赖喇嘛与中国网民在推特上谈西藏

美联社：


BY Cara Anna, Associated Press Writer –

Fri May 21

BEIJING – The Dalai Lama tried to hold a rare direct conversation with people inside China on Friday, answering questions live on Twitter about the fate of long-tense Tibet.

The hourlong session with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader had been requested by Wang Lixiong, a Chinese writer and convert to Tibetan Buddhism who lives in Beijing. The two met for Friday's online conversation in a hotel room in New York, where the Dalai Lama is visiting.

Through a Chinese interpreter, the Dalai Lama tweeted messages of criticism about the Chinese government's policies in Tibet and words of welcome to Chinese citizens.

"The government made these tensions, not the people," he said.

It wasn't clear how many people inside China were reading his comments. Twitter is blocked in China, but the service has become popular with thousands of Chinese, especially activists, who find a way around controls. Wang's Twitter feed, where the conversation was posted, had more than 8,000 followers as of Friday night.

Peking University professor and media critic Hu Yong tweeted that he was struck by the Dalai Lama's comment that "Stability comes from the heart."

The Dalai Lama remains a highly sensitive person for China, which objected strongly when President Barack Obama personally welcomed him to the White House in February.

China maintains that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history and consider the Dalai Lama their rightful leader. He fled 51 years ago and lives in India.

China's government says the Dalai Lama seeks to destroy the country's sovereignty by pushing independence for Tibet, but he says he wants some form of autonomy instead.

While a spokesman for the office of the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Taklha, confirmed Friday's conversation, it was impossible to tell who posed the questions selected from almost 300 submitted online.

But it was a start, Wang said.

"For years, there have been only official statements about the issue of Tibet inside China," Wang said in his open letter to the Dalai Lama on May 5 requesting the online chat. "No doubt, it's hard for people to know the truth about Tibet."

Tibetans in China have long complained about restrictions on Buddhism, government propaganda campaigns against the Dalai Lama, and an influx of Chinese migrants. Those feelings boiled over in deadly anti-Chinese riots in 2008 that shocked Beijing's leaders.

The Dalai Lama said Friday the gap between Tibetans and China's majority Han Chinese "is getting deeper and deeper" and said that in some areas the Han community has grown so dramatically that "Tibetan culture faces a great crisis."

Calls to the United Front Department of the Communist Party, which handles talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama, rang unanswered Friday night.

Wang said more than 1,200 people submitted questions and that the most popular ones were asked Friday.

More than one of those questions concerned what will happen when the Dalai Lama dies, and whether the Tibet issue will be resolved before then.

"I've been through many eras ... and I've seen big changes," he answered. He pointed out that already some retired Chinese government and Communist Party officials, as well as intellectuals, are saying the country's ethnic policies are not right and need more reflection.

Blacklisted author Yu Jie tweeted in response, "It's still a small number, the Dalai Lama is too optimistic."

Talks between China and representatives of the Tibetan government in exile haven't gone far. In January, Chinese officials told the Dalai Lama's envoys that Beijing would not make any compromises on its sovereignty over the Himalayan region and that both sides' views remained "sharply divided."

The Dalai Lama's representatives said China's warnings came across as high-handed, but they said they would keep pursuing dialogue with Beijing despite their differences.

Beijing has refused to discuss the status of Tibet with the emissaries, saying the Chinese would only address the Dalai Lama's return to China. He fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against China.

Any question of the Dalai Lama's return to China did not come up in Friday's conversation.

"I believe not far in the future there will definitely be change and the problems will be resolved," he said.

Dalai Lama tweets to Chinese web users

by Robert Saiget Robert Saiget –

Fri May 21

BEIJING:

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, held his first Internet chat with Chinese web users Friday, in a wide-ranging dialogue touching on politics and his eventual successor.

The webcast was seen on the micro-blogging website Twitter and on Internet sites inside China despite Beijing's long-standing efforts to police the web and silence the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner on the Chinese mainland.

During the 90-minute chat, the Dalai Lama said a decade of negotiations with Beijing on autonomy for Tibet and his eventual return home had failed to move forward because the government refused to acknowledge the problems Tibet faces.

The lack of progress "is because the central government has all along maintained that there is no problems in Tibet -- there are only problems with the Dalai Lama," he said from New York.

China has called the Dalai Lama a "wolf in monk's clothing" and accused him of seeking to split the country, but he has repeatedly said he accepts Beijing's rule and is only seeking "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet.

"I personally have no demands -- my main concerns are the problems with Tibetan culture and the religion and environment of the Tibetan people," he told web users.

"In some Tibetan areas, because the population of Han Chinese has increased, the Tibetan language and culture are facing a crisis."

Two years ago, protests in Tibet's capital Lhasa marking the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule escalated into deadly violence, prompting a massive security clampdown in the Himalayan region that is ongoing.

The Dalai Lama said Beijing's present course of action in his homeland was "coercive", adding: "They are always laying importance on Tibet's stability -- I think stability comes from the faith within one's own heart."

Over 12,500 people selected 289 questions for the monk by online voting done on a Google Moderator site, which was blocked in China on Thursday, said Wang Lixiong, a long-time critic of China's policy in Tibet, who helped run the chat.

The 74-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader, able to answer only a few questions, elaborated on the coming reincarnation of the 15th Dalai Lama who will take his place after he passes away, in accordance with Buddhist ritual.

"In 1969, I made an official statement, that said that in the future if the Dalai Lama line should be continued, this should be decided by the people of Tibet," he said.

"In 1992 I made a statement that stressed that if in the future Tibet really got formal administration (of the Tibet region), I would transfer all of my rights to the democratically elected leaders of Tibet."

He refused to respond directly when asked whether he feared China's atheist government would control the reincarnation process much like it did in 1995 when picking the boy chosen as the Panchen Lama -- Tibet's second-most revered spiritual leader.

"As far as I understand, he (the new Panchen Lama) is very intelligent -- as far as Buddhist scriptures, he is making a lot of effort," the exiled leader said.

"But the people have certain suspicions about him, on whether or not his interpretations of Buddhist scriptures will be effective. This is very important and it will depend on he himself."

Although Twitter is blocked in China, Chinese users were able to access the chat, as Twitter allows third-party applications and servers to freely use its data both inside and outside China.

This has made Twitter largely available in China despite the vast web of government Internet censorship sometimes dubbed the "Great Firewall of China", said Xiao Qiang, who heads the US-based China Digital Times.

"The Great Firewall has actually helped the Twitter community to grow in China in a way not seen around the world," he told AFP by telephone.

Up to 150,000 Chinese are estimated have Twitter accounts, with as many as 100,000 of them physically living in the mainland, Xiao said.

The Dalai Lama joined Twitter, the popular micro-blogging site, earlier this year.

达赖喇嘛纽约演讲

自由亚洲电台 - 5月23日
2010-05-21

5月20号到23号，西藏精神领袖达赖喇嘛访问纽约。在无线电音乐城连续三天宣讲他的理念。同时推出新书：《有信仰者是一家人》(Toward a True Kinship of Faith)。20号下午，主办方安排达赖喇嘛与媒体见面。

自由亚洲电台特约记者紫荆发自纽约的报道


达赖喇嘛在纽约无线电城连续三天宣讲他的理念，门票有炒到五百美元。20号的记者会，现场坐满了媒体，闪光灯不断。

达赖喇嘛谈到中国的发展，认为迟早要符合开放民主的世界潮流。他说民主尽管在一些国家不成功，但还是最好的制度。

达赖喇嘛说：“ 所以我是乐观的。我们对中国人民有信心、不会动摇。2008年3月10日事件之后，我们看到近千篇中文的文章，批评中国政府的政策，支持我们不寻求独立、而是真正自治。而且，中共越压迫，藏人的精神越高昂。”

针对胡锦涛提出的共建和谐社会的口号，达赖喇嘛说“完全支持”。达赖喇嘛： “但是和谐必须发自内心，而不是出于恐惧。目前，靠暴力维持和谐是
错误的方式。”

达赖喇嘛的新书是《有信仰者是一家人》(Toward a True Kinship of Faith)，主持人就此问到一些宗教之间互相排斥的问题。

达赖喇嘛说，每个人的信仰，对他来讲就是最好的。就象医药，谁也不能说这种药最好。而是根据不同的病症，病人的体质而定。

所以他建议，对自己的信仰要坚定，对其他主要的传统要尊重和包容。 他认为恐怖行动和宗教流血冲突并不是因为信仰不同，而是为了权力。

达赖喇嘛最后希望媒体能够如实报导，他在纽约的行程安排很满，除了公开演讲，23号还将与中国学生、学者会面和讨论。

以上是自由亚洲电台特约记者紫荆发自纽约的报道。

H.H's visit NYC, Organizer ticket sky Rock

Choni Tsultrim

5/22/2010


Tibetan leader His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s visit New York City is always such great benefit for all the walks of lives in the city whether they are Buddhists or non-Buddhists everyone has something positive to say about his teachings, compassionate nature and peacefulness and even his smile and gaggles give thousand of people peace and refresh their lives and even some times change people’s lives completely by listening to his teachings.

I remember couple of years ago HH gave teaching “ Three principles of the path to enlightenment” at Central park it was estimated close to a million of people gathered that day. I talked some of the people after the teaching. They told me that it was the best day ever they had in thier lives. Everyone was so happy that they learnt something from Dalai Lama. I remember some of my Chinese friends bought ticket for three days teaching at Music City Hall that year. They told me ticket was so expensive but it was worth.

Same as last two years teachings in North America really helped people to know about Buddhism and Tibet. Whenever people see any announcement on magazine or online about HH’s come over America and specially in New York City is something everyone talked about and expected so that we all can get a glimpse of bless if luck enough.

As a Buddhist I am no different from everyone else. I really felt that whole entire city has been enriched and blessed so much in so many ways and specially those are believers of Buddhism and particularly all the Tibetans and people from Himalayan range so much vibrated for the last two three weeks rushed for tickets and lined up 3:00 AM in the morning for the better seats and most importantly everyone wanted to be close to him to get the best bless which is totally understandable. The funny thing was those who paid $25-$35 over were allowed to enter actual hall to see real Buddha. Nearly thousand of people only got chance to watch TV in a separate hall even though paid $10 ticket. Half of the people in the separated hall are rebucking sharply about the separation and hundreds of people don’t even have ticket murmuring outside door with no chance to get in and see Buddha compassion they waited for long time.

There are few questions come aross to my mind:

1) Why there were only few Tibetans on the teaching in the Radio City Music hall among thousands ?
2) Did Tibetans know that HH is teaching in the city?
3) or because those days were not Saturdays and Sundays?
4) or $360 tickets were too expensive for Tibetans to go to teaching?
5) or Tibetans already knew what HH is teaching in New York?
6) Why Tibetans are rushing for public talk, not for three days teaching?

Maybe the ticket cost so much that most of Tibetan won’t be able to afford to buy even though wanted so badly to participate His Holiness’ teaching.

Two days ago I read an article about a student asked H.H Dalai Lama why his teachings are so expensive. H.H simply answered, “Organizer decide ticket price, and not me.” I knew there so many others have same questions but never get chance to put up publicly. I actually met a family friend in New Jersey yesterday. First thing he asked me if I got chance to receive teachings. Before I answered his question he shook his head and said, “I will not be able to get any teaching from Dalai Lama because it’s too expensive and I have got four family members if we go to teaching it costs my family over $1500 and plus food and transportation and we simply don’t have money to do it.

We all understand some money maybe go to charity and of course organizer needs money to pay off their expenses. But the question here everyone has is that……
1) should we sell teachings to benefit something else?
2) why teachings are over expensive?
3) Should we think about people have no money?
4) Are these teachings are only for rich people?
5) Does these teachings are for benefit entire sentient being or whoever has money?
6) Who decide cost of ticket to push away poor people’s participation?
7) Why we sell Dalai Lama to make money for ourselves to rich your organization or Centers?
8) Is this truly Buddhist way of benefit other?
9) Does Tibetan office or government ever thought about this issue?
10) Or do we still continue to ignore no matter what?

Few days ago VOA Pema Dorjee interviewed Director of Indiana Tibetan Center Aga Rinpochen at the airport while he was there to receive HH the Dalai Lama for three days Heart Sutra teaching. He actually mentioned that they are going to raise money by selling ticket and give some money to help Earth quack in Yushu. Although the attention is perfectly right but raise ticket price to sky rock to push away so many poor people and not give chance or consider affordability those who have no money specially during this crisis is absolutely wrong and selfish. I am not saying that help victims is wrong but they needs to refresh thier mind and they shouldn't zig zag on propose of teaching "Heart Sutra" in particuler area. Their focus should be the people around that area not raise money for the earth quack. They can raise money anytime they want for the victimized by earth quack but it is totally wrong over priced tikect and not give chance to poor people.

This is just an example. To my knowledge pretty much all the organizer across the country no matter where and what state, ticket price for HH's teaching is over beyond measure. We all need to wake up once again to refresh our mind why we sell over priced tickets, Why we treat Lord Buddha's teachings as business? most importantly we need to check our motivation by doing all these thing. If we hold wrong or non-virtuous motivation from the beginning then what's the hell to waste time and energy.

Finally, While I was finish writing this article, I got a phone from a friend saying that he called for ticket so many times nobody answers phone. Finally somebody called Dolak said in phone “we don’t have ticket now so don’t even think about to come over because heavy security and you won’t be able to get in hall.” My friend was absolutely torn and trashed down mentally and emotionally.

My Buddha, compassionate one,
why I am not allow to see you?
It because I don’t have money?
You compassionate I know you are watching on me
And you know how I am feeling
I wish I have the power to make everyone equal
So that we all equally enjoy your bless’
My prayers go on with those wanted to see you day and night.
May all sentient being equally bless by,
“You compassionate one”

Tibetan people 'put through hell'

Dalai Lama:

'We Tibetans are looking for meaningful autonomy'
The Dalai Lama has launched a fierce attack on Chinese rule in his Tibetan homeland, saying his people have experienced "hell on Earth".

Five decades of Chinese rule have caused "untold suffering", Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said, accusing Beijing of creating a climate of fear.

He also repeated his demand for Tibet's "legitimate and meaningful autonomy".

China dismissed the Dalai Lama's attack as a lie and insisted its rule had benefited Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama's speech, in Dharmsala, India, came on the 50th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Beijing.

The BBC's James Reynolds says that the Dalai Lama's words were different from his usual peaceful comments.

This is perhaps a sign of the exasperation and frustration he must feel over China's stance, our correspondent says.

China says its troops freed Tibetans from effective slavery in a feudal society. It is planning to mark 28 March - the day in 1959 on which the Communist Party dissolved the existing local government in Tibet - as Serfs' Emancipation Day.

'Expected sabotage'

"The Dalai Lama clique is confusing right and wrong," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu.

DALAI LAMA'S SPEECH
Today, the religion, culture, language and identity, which successive generations of Tibetans have considered more precious than their lives, are nearing extinction - in short, the Tibetan people are regarded like criminals deserving to be put to death

Dalai Lama


The speech in full [43.6KB]
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"They are spreading rumours. The democratic reforms [under Chinese rule] are the widest and most profound reforms in Tibetan history."

On Monday, President Hu Jintao called for a "Great Wall" against Tibetan separatism.

Thousands of Chinese troops and paramilitary police are said to have been deployed in Tibetan-populated regions amid fears of fresh violence on the sensitive anniversary.

Campaign groups have already reported some unrest in areas around Tibet. China does not allow foreign journalists unrestricted access to Tibet or restive areas surrounding it, making it extremely difficult to verify these reports.

Beijing says it has tightened its border controls in preparation for "expected sabotage activities by the Dalai Lama clique".

But there have been demonstrations around the Asia-Pacific region.

Four people were arrested in clashes with police outside the Chinese embassy in the Australian capital Canberra but later released.

In Nepal about 100 Tibetan exiles were blocked by police outside Kathmandu, as the government imposed a ban on protests outside the Chinese embassy, AFP news agency reports.

'Mutual benefit'

In Dharmsala, crowds waved Tibetan flags as bands marched by and there were also solemn moments of prayer and meditation.

The Dalai Lama said hundreds of thousands of Tibetans had been killed and thousands of places of worship destroyed over the years.

But the two sides needed to work for "mutual benefit".


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The Dalai Lama arrives in India a month after fleeing Tibet - report broadcast April 1959

"We Tibetans are looking for legitimate and meaningful autonomy, an arrangement that would enable Tibetans to live within the framework of the People's Republic of China," the exiled leader said.

"I have no doubt that the justice of Tibet's cause will prevail."

The Dalai Lama paid tribute to all those who had died since 1959, including victims of last year's deadly protests in Lhasa that spilled over into other ethnic Tibetan regions.

Successive Chinese campaigns - class struggle, the Cultural Revolution and "patriotic re-education" - had "thrust Tibetans into such depths of suffering and hardship that they literally experienced hell on earth", he said.

"Even today Tibetans in Tibet live in constant fear and the Chinese authorities remain constantly suspicious of them."

Tibet's religion, culture, language and identity were "nearing extinction", he said, and Chinese development was devastating the Tibetan environment and way of life.

TIBET DIVIDE

China says Tibet was always part of its territory
Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century
China launched a military assault in 1950
Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising which began on 10 March 1959
Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled days later and crossed into India on 31 March 1959


China's position on Tibet
The Tibetan exile position
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"Many infrastructural developments... which seem to have brought progress to Tibetan areas were really done with the political objective of Sinicising Tibet," he added.

China has always denied any mass killings of Tibetans.

Referring to his "Middle Way approach" - offering to accept Chinese sovereignty in Tibet in return for genuine autonomy - the 73-year-old leader expressed disappointment that China had "not responded appropriately to our sincere efforts".

But he said the two sides should "look to the future and work for our mutual benefit".

"Fulfilling the aspirations of the Tibetan people will enable China to achieve stability and unity," he added.

After the Dalai Lama's speech, thousands of young Tibetans took to the streets of Dharmsala chanting "China out" and "Tibet belongs to Tibetans".

The latest round of stop-start talks with Beijing last November concluded with China condemning the Tibetans' proposals as a bid for "disguised independence".

In a separate statement, the Tibetan government-in-exile pledged to continue to push the "Middle Way approach" but said the continuation of contact depended solely on China.

Thousands of women used and trashed them by China's Mo

History


The author chooses to be anonymous

Mao Zhedong’s licentious life may be well known by many people, especially overseas Chinese who are able to talk freely among their acquaintances.

Recently, as there are many people talking on the web about the adultery of Mao and his daughter in law, I recalled what I had known about Mao, and hope it may help those women who had suffered and maybe help release some of their sorrow.

I recall in the 90’s, that when I was working in China, a friend told me that there was a very beautiful girl (let me call her G) who was secretly selected from a section of the army posted in Baoding, who was sent to be Mao’s secretary, or some similar position. When G was sent there, after she was introduced to Mao, Mao told G that his marriage to Jiangqin was not very good, etc. and he hoped to sleep with G, but would like G to agree. G refused persistently. So G was sent back to the army. My friend told me that G’s superiors in the army were very angry with G as they feared that G may have destroyed their chances for promotion. G immediately faced severe persecution and disappeared. Later I found that this was just a “little incident among thousands of women” that Mao tried to possess. Let me put a few cases here:

Mao had about 15 places for his dalliances with women, other than Zhongnanhai, that were well know by his close guards and many top leaders of the Communist party.

These cases are only a drop in the ocean. For those women who were well known before being raped, they still struggled to have a life afterwards, but the unknown girls that were selected from the masses, after being seduced and sexually exploited, they were either sent to the remote corners of China, or to isolated islands, to remain anonymous for the rest of their lives. It might be possible that some of them may think that their story should be told.

All of you would know, I hope, is that for those girls, who were born later than 1950, I will only talk about their cases, but will not reveal their names.

From those who researched the history of Mao from sources other than publications by communist China, you may know that Mao’s first wife, Ms Lee, was 6 years older than Mao, and was chosen by both senior members of the family. They were married according to Chinese tradition, and bowed to heaven, earth and their parents, the proper process for a traditional marriage. But Mao left her without explanation a few days after the wedding.

Even when that miserable American journalist, Edgar Snow, thought to please Mao and asked about Mao’s first marriage, Mao did not even bother to answer him. Mao never showed any respect, compassion or tolerance to ordinary people, and he left his small village and his first wife for good shortly after the marriage.

The first lover Mao encountered was Miss Tao Siyong, who came from Xiangtan county, Hunan province. She was from a very wealthy and famous family, a well educated, very gentle and compassionate lady. She was a classmate of Mao in Changsha First Teacher’s college, and they were from the same province. From 1919 to 1920, Mao and Tao opened a bookshop together, and they were very much in love during that time. But in the summer of 1920, Tao could not bear the attitude of Mao on rebellion and violence, and besides, Mao had turned his attention to Yang Kaihui.

Yang Kaihui’s father, Yang Jichang was Mao’s teacher in the college. Yang Jichang was a very famous scholar and was invited to teach in Beijing. So Yang Kaihui and her mother lived in Beijing for a while although Yang Kaihui knew Mao, but did not take any interest in him.

On 17th January 1920, Yang Jichang died so Yang Kaihui and her mother returned to Changsha. Mao then visited Yang Kaihui often while supposedly still “in love” with Tao. Mao and Yang Kaihui decided to get married in mid 1920.
Ms Tao left Changsha for Shanghai. She opened a school called “Lida School”. Tao died in 1932 when she was only in her early thirties.

Between 1922 and 1926, Yang Kaihui had two sons with Mao, Mao Anying and Mao Anlong. But soon after giving birth to Mao Anlong, Yang discovered that Mao had raped the wife of his comrade, Li Lisan. Yang and Mao had a big quarrel because of this.

Mao had started looking for a political career at an early age, and joined the communist party in it's early stages. The Chinese Communist Party had been established with the guidance and funding of the Russian Communist Party.

In the autumn of 1927, as directed by the Russians, Mao took part in a rebellion which was crushed by the nationalist army, so he fled to Mount Jinggang in Shanxi.

Two days after Mao arrived in the mountain, Mao started to live together with a famous woman of the area, Ms He Zhizheng, a young woman who made a living as an armed robber in the mountain area, and who could fire two guns at the same time. Ms He give birth to a daughter in 1928, while Yang Kaihui was living in Changsha trying to avoid being arrested by the nationalist army because of Mao’s student activities.

Yang had lived through a very hard period and asked Mao to let her come to Mount Jingggang , but Mao refused to allow her and their two sons to come. During this time Mao and other communists in Mount Jinggang, had committed many robberies and killings, so that many people asked help from the government, to purge Mao’s gang and stop their crimes.

In the winter of 1929, Yang Kaihui was arrested by the government, but as the governor was a friend of Yang’s father, he asked Yang to end her marriage with Mao, so that he could help her case. But Yang refused to renounce her marriage to Mao and she was executed on 14th November 1930.

In October, 1934, Mao was chased out of Jiangxi province by the Nationalist army. Mao and his communists were running for their lives in remote areas for more than a year, but Mao had made Ms He pregnant three times in one year and she had 3 abortions which caused her health to deteriorate badly.

Soon after that they arrived in Shanbei, Yanan area, where, away from the main Nationalist force, Mao’s situation became easier. But Mao had his new prey, the American journalist, Ms Agnes Smedley and her English interpreter, a young student, Ms Wu Guanghui. One day Ms He witnessed Mao’s adultery, and was so enraged that she said: "I will get my people to kill these two slugs". Mao then had his people force He Zhizheng out of Yanan.

So that is why many Chinese communist leaders would say nowadays: “I have conquered this country, so playing with a few women is not some big deal.”

After Ms He was forced out of Yanan, she went to Moscow in the spring of 1938 where she gave birth to Mao’s sixth child. When the baby was born it had pneumonia, but rather than receive treatment it was sent to the morgue while still alive. Ms He was treated badly by the Russians who understood Mao’s intentions. Ms He begged Mao to let her go back to Yanan, but Mao sent their three year old daughter to Moscow in return to Ms He’s request. Later, He Zhizheng argued with the hospital in Moscow about her baby being thrown in the morgue, but the hospital locked He Zhizheng in a psychiatric hospital for 6 years!

In the summer of 1938, while Ms He suffered in Moscow, Mao met actress Jiangqin (aka, Lan Ping or Li Yunhe). Jiang had four husbands or lovers during that time. Mao invited Jiang to chat and dine with him, and Jiang slept with Mao that evening.

During that period, there were four beautiful and famous actresses in the Yanan Theatre - they were Feng Fengming, Shun Shiwei, Zhang Xingfang, and Guo Lanying. Mao had his eye on Feng Fengming while sleeping with Jiangqin. Ms Feng had travelled overseas and was a well educated and talented actress, also very beautiful.

One day Mao invited Feng and Jiangqin and other friends to join him for a late night snack after watching the performance. When all the guests were about to leave, Mao asked Ms Feng to stay to discuss the development of culture, but instead, he raped Feng that evening. Ms Feng was very angry and traumatised. She left Yanan and continued her career in Japan and Hongkong, and was very successful there.

In December, 1949, after the communist takeover of China, Mao and Zhou Enlai went to Russia with the Chinese communist leadership team, and Miss Shun Weishi, the adopted daughter of Zhou Enlai, was the translator for Mao. One evening, Mao locked the door as he was taking Russian language lessons from Miss Shun and the next morning, Miss Shun was shocked to find herself waking up naked in Mao’s bed. Miss Shun was so distressed and frightened, she told Zhou Enlai, and certainly Zhou was not shocked.

After they returned from Russia, Mao asked Zhou if Mao should divorce Jiangqin and marry Shun Weishi. Zhou did not agree, and he married Shun Weishi to the theatre playboy, Jing Shan, who also slept with Jiangqin. Later, Mao said to people around him, “well, me and Jing Shan, we don’t owe each other anything.”

But when Jiangqin heard that Mao had slept with Shun Weishi, she tried to seek revenge on Shun. In 1966, at the beginning of the "Great culturural revolution", Jiang had Ms Shun arrested and sent to jail. The torture of Shun Weishi was well recorded. Shun had been severely beaten, and was not allowed to wore any clothes in jail. She was executed by punching a long nail into her head. The execution order was signed by Zhou Enlai. She was only 38 years old.

In 1951, the Chinese communist army was helping the North Koreans to set up a communist state and split the Koreas. But the three armies of communist China stationed in South Korea, were facing annihilation. General Peng Dehuai went back to meet Mao urgently, but was stopped by Mao’s guard outside of the door. General Peng was very angry, and pushed past the guard to see that Mao was with a young nurse in bed.

In 1953, the performing troupe which was set up to entertain the army during the war was renamed the performing troup of Zhongnanhai, which meant that the troupe would stay inside Zhongnanhai. In fact, the girls in the troupe had to sleep with Mao in turn every night.

Sometime, Mao liked to change a few dance partners during just one song, and his manner was rude and disgusting. Some girls went to General Peng for help as they could not stand the humiliation. General Peng disbanded the troupe after receiving complaints from the girls.

In the summer of 1956, after Mao arrived in Qingdao, two of the best dancers, Miss A & B of the Qingdao performing troupe were chosen to have a special talk with the minister of the culture department in Qingdao city. After meeting with the minister, Miss A was chosen to work for a State leader as a private assistant. Miss A was sent by car (to use a car was rare in that period) which had all windows covered in black cloth. The driver purposely made many detours during the journey, and finally, they arrived at a mansion with well kept gardens and red carpet underfoot.

The first thing Miss A experienced was being medically checked by two female doctors “thoroughly”. Miss A was embarrassed as she was a virgin. She asked what type of leader needed such a check to be carried out? The female doctor answered her, “you will know, he is famous and always in the newspaper.” So Miss A was asked to go to help this leader have a bath while she was naked. She really had no idea what was going on, did not dare to enter the bathroom. Soon, that “central leader” came out from the bathroom. It was Mao. Miss A was not excited, but cried hysterically in shock. Mao said loudly, “who asked you to come?! Then Mao made an excuse and asked people to take Miss A back. The driver told Miss A in the car: “remember, nothing happened today!” The next day, Miss B was sent in her place, but Miss A was also sent away, to Mount Xinanling in Heilongjiang province, where she had to work as a woodcutter. She was raped frequently by many woodcutters while working there.

In 1978, two years after Mao’s death, Miss A was 42 years old, but she looked over 60. She was granted permission to return to Qingdao under the condition of “forgetting everything”.

Miss B who agreed to “serve the great leader” was sent to the remote mountain of Wuzhishan, on Hainan island, to live a seclusive life after being “used up” by Mao.

In 1961, after successfully starving 30 million people to death, Mao went to Shanghai to attend a meeting of seven thousand people. Mao stayed in the Xijiao hotel and thought of the famous actress C. Miss C was the most beautiful actress in Shanghai at that time. One evening after the dance party, the Minister for Culture, Zhang Chunqiao asked Miss C to stay, and told her that Chairman Mao had invited her for a late evening snack and to discuss with her about issues relating to the movie industry. Minister Zhang also told Miss C that the relationship of Mao and Jiangqin was not very good, and that it interfered with the national interests and development.

The central leaders in Beijing were all looking for a person more suitable for Mao, who would be beneficial to the future of the country. So Miss C started sleeping with Mao from that night. She stayed with Mao in that hotel for the rest of the week. She was also called to Beijing to stay at Zhongnanhai for a short time. From then on, Miss C refused any proposal from other men, and hoped to become the wife of the great leader Mao. But soon after that, the Cultural Revolution started. Miss C was facing the same fate as Shun Weishi, who was persecuted to death under instructions from Jiangqin.

In 1965, Mao went to Mount Lu. An actress from Jiujiang performing troupe, Miss D, played the Chinese instrument, Pipa. Mao liked her after watching her play, and was sleeping with her during his stay in the Mount Lu region.

Mao died on 9th September 1976. In October 1976, officers came from Beijing and took D away with them. No one knows where about D was sent. The workers in Mount Lu believed that D was sent to a place to be silenced, or to live a seclusive life.

In October 1965, when Mao was staying in Hangzhou, the local army officers found him a very beautiful girl, who was only 28 years old. Ms E was divorced and she was slim and tall. She massaged Mao every morning. Soon, she was pregnant. Mao gave her two thousand dollars and asked her to leave. There was no trace of E later on.

After E left, there was another young massage nurse F.
Mao liked F very much and called her "a fish from Wuchang province". But F was not as obedient as E. Mao’s personal assistant, Zhang Yufeng (I think everyone known about Zhang Yufeng’s relationship with Mao, so I do not talk about that here again.) remembered that F had run out of Mao’s bedroom on a few occasions, crying. Later, F was taken away by the army and no one knows her whereabouts after that.

In 1973, Mao was about to meet the leader from an Africa country. The camera man went to the meeting room a bit earlier than the arranged time to set up the camera and lighting. He found Mao holding a naked woman. The camera man was shocked and so was the woman. She quickly ran to the back of the screen in the room. But soon Mao and that African leader commenced their meeting while the women stayed behind the screen naked during the whole meeting. It was a cold night and if the air-conditioning failed, how would that naked woman stand the cold? Or if the screen had fallen it would have become the most infamous diplomatic meeting in the world.

According to those people who were close to Mao there were thousands of women or young girls who were raped and discarded by Mao.

西藏流亡精神领袖达赖喇嘛

西藏流亡精神领袖达赖喇嘛周五晚间通过推特与中文网民直接对话，就未来达赖喇嘛继承人问题、与北京当局谈判的困难所在、汉藏关系等问题回答网友提问。他透过翻译批评了中国政府的西藏政策。

西藏流亡精神领袖达赖喇嘛在中国作家王力雄的邀请下，于周五晚间北京时间8点至9点，透过王力雄的个人推特帐户与中文网民直接对话。总部设在美国的《中国数字时代》直播了对话内容，并在对话之后，根据直播内容，整理成文字发表。从《中国数字时代》整理的直播对话文字内容看，在持续约一小时的问答中，达赖喇嘛透过翻译批评了中国政府的西藏政策，并对中国推特用户表示问候。在谈到汉藏两大民族目前的紧张关系时，达赖喇嘛表示：“根本原因是因为政府造成的。不是人民”。

在解释与北京政府多次谈判无果的原因时，达赖喇嘛表示：“主要是中国官方一直强调没有西藏问题，只有达赖喇嘛问题，我个人没有任何诉求，主要关心的是西藏的文化，主要是西藏人民的宗教及环境问题。”他指出，为建设西藏，发展西藏和团结西藏，中国政府使用的强制手段，一再强调稳定。但他认为：“稳定来自内心的信赖”。

英国媒体BBC报道指出，显然很多中国民众看到了达赖喇嘛的评论。虽然推特网站在中国遭到封锁，但是很多中国网民喜欢翻越官方设置的防火牆使用推特网站。

独立作家及民族问题专家王力雄是这次推特对话的发起人。根据王力雄在其推特上介绍，中文网民自5月17日起，通过“谷歌汇问”向达赖喇嘛提问，１８日时已有八百多人提交了２１９个问题。但当天“谷歌汇问”在中国就被屏蔽。四天之内共有1253人提出了289个问题，这些问题然后经过一万两千多网民投票评选，再由王力雄按照每个问题的网民支持度高低顺序，通过推特提交给达赖喇嘛。王力雄在推特上表示，这次推特对话是达赖喇嘛第一次直接面对成规模的普通中国人群体，不像以往只是面对民运人士或少数知识分子精英。

Secret channels with China

Ma Ying Jeou's secret channeles

May 22/10

Former National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Su Chi recently revealed that the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou has established 20 channels of communication with China, including some secret ones.

Has Su's act violated the Classified National Security Information Protection Act? If the Ma administration does not give the public an explanation, does it mean that everyone can follow Su in the future and leave the country in a state of anarchy? Su's statement not only confirmed that the Ma administration in fact maintains very close contact with China, but also highlighted that there are untold secrets behind the 12 cross-Taiwan Strait agreements signed since Ma's inauguration. How many more secret deals are being concealed from the people? How many of Taiwan's interests have been sold out? Integrity is the most basic requirement for officials in charge of national security, and military and intelligence affairs. What sort of NSC secretary-general would put up state secrets for sale? And what kind of president would consider this kind of person his confidant? Ma is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and he also pledged to protect the country when sworn in to the presidency. He cannot turn a blind eye to the dangerous signs that have been emerging in the national security system.

News from China

A Rift Has Opened in Beijing
Between obedience to the pope and to the communist party, some bishops are choosing the latter. The most stunning about-face has taken place in the capital. A secret letter from Cardinal Bertone. The alarm of Cardinal Zen

by Sandro Magister


ROMA, February 11, 2009 – At the Vatican as well, they had deceived themselves that the Beijing Olympics would lead to greater freedom for the Catholic Church. But the news coming to Rome from China shows the contrary.

Meanwhile, once again the Chinese authorities have not permitted bishops to leave the country, to participate in the synod last October.

In the second place, the episcopal see of Beijing – occupied in recent decades strictly by bishops appointed by the government, and without the authorization of the pope, but "reconquered" by Rome two summers ago with the installation of a new bishop approved both by the government and by the Holy See – is in serious danger of being lost again.

In fact, the new bishop, Joseph Li Shan (in the photo) whom cardinal secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone had hailed as "a very good and suitable person," is increasingly stringing together actions submissive toward the regime. To such an extent that many among the faithful already consider him a "traitor."

In the third place, the communist party has intensified its pressure to subjugate the Church and separate a significant part of it from Rome. This pressure is mainly exercised on the bishops installed by the government. Most of these, year after year, had returned to communion with the pope. But now some of them are wavering.

In July of 2007, Benedict XVI had written an open letter to Catholics in China, to help them establish unity between themselves and Rome. But the process of reconciliation and rebuilding of the Chinese Church timidly undertaken after that letter now seems to have come to a halt.

Last April, a second letter went out from the Vatican to China, this time confidential and addressed only to the bishops. But the letter, signed by Cardinal Bertone, seemed to some of the bishops like a step backward in comparison with that of the pope. It was too deferential toward the Chinese authorities.

"Asia News," the online agency with a special focus on China, founded and directed by Fr. Bernardo Cervellera of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, has carried out a survey among the Chinese bishops. The results have been called "disturbing."

To such an extent that Cardinal Zen Zekiun, making use of the greater freedom that he enjoys as a citizen of Hong Kong, has broken the paralysis and raised the alarm. He has urged his brother bishops on the mainland not to give in, and to be more courageous in opposing the pressure from the regime.

Here is a thorough reconstruction and analysis of all of these events, written for "Asia News" by Fr. Cervellera:


The bishop of Beijing, the Vatican, and compromising with the Patriotic Association

by Bernardo Cervellera


Just over a year after the ordination of their current bishop, the Catholics of Beijing are divided in their opinion of him, and more and more of them are accusing him of betraying the Church of Rome.

Joseph Li Shan, 44, was ordained on September 21, 2007, with papal approval. But after more than year in office his attitude towards the Vatican seems to have changed. Catholics say that the man who came to replace Michael Fu Tieshan, the patriotic bishop who died a year before, is taking long strides toward a return to patriotism, and autonomy from the Holy See.

The faithful have been taken aback by his way of doing things, by speeches that seem to be slipping conctinually toward absolute submission to the Patriotic Association, dedicated to creating and controlling a Catholic Church independent of Rome.


BISHOP AND SERVANT OF POWER


Some of his speeches are particularly revealing. The first was delivered on November 25, during a training session for priests and lay people. The bishop began by praising the progress enjoyed by the Church thanks to the thirty years of reforms launched by Deng Xiaoping. The faithful saw the use of a religious formation course to pay tribute to Deng's modernizations as a "tax paid to political power." But what came next was even more disconcerting. Bishop Li Shan defended the actions of his predecessor, Bishop Fu Tieshan, who had begun the "glorious tradition of loving the fatherland and loving the Church". "Love the fatherland, love the Church" is nothing other than the slogan of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), which wants to force the Church to obey the communist party.

Further on, Li Shan said that "the work of loving the fatherland and loving the Church has suffered grave interference from foreign political powers, and from the clandestine Church in China." The accusation against the Vatican is clear: in the speeches of the communist party, it is the Holy See that is considered "a foreign state that wants to meddle in the internal affairs of China under the guise of religion."

Bishop Li continued: "Some people have focused on our diocese and Bishop Fu, undervaluing the results we have obtained in these years, which is much more than what was done in the previous 700 years . . . causing trouble and trying to convince us to give up the principle of Church self-governance [meaning autonomy from Rome), moving us back into the past."

For the future, Bishop Li stated that it is necessary to "maintain the idea of loving the fatherland and loving the Church, persevering on the path towards the Church’s self-governance," because these two guidelines are "the fundamental guarantee for a healthy development of the Church's work in the capital."

"These principles," he concluded, "are the result of what we have learned from the semi-colonial history [meaning enslaved to the Vatican] of the Chinese Church in the past. They are also the valuable experience of the new life and development of the Chinese Church in the socialist society of the new China."

Naturally, in saying all of this Li Shan was defending the necessity of the CPCA and "democracy" in the Church. According to this principle, the appointment of bishops, pastoral work, and theological issues are entrusted to an assembly of bishops, priests, and laity strictly dominated by the CPCA, debasing the Church's sacramental nature.

The entire speech from November 25, in Chinese, was available on the website of the diocese of Beijing until a short time ago. It was also possible to read on the site the speech delivered by Bishop Li Shan on December 19, at the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the first episcopal ordinations in China autonomous of the Holy See. Both have disappeared in recent days.


THAT SAD CHRISTMAS EVE


Bishop Li Shan delivered a similar speech on Christmas Eve of 2008. At 7 in the evening, he was visited by Ye Xiaowen, director of the state administration of religious affairs; Zhou Ning, director of the second section of the United Front; Tong Genzhu, deputy minister of the central department of the United Front; and many others, including Beijing deputy mayor Niu Youcheng.

The faithful got goosebumps this time, too. Bishop Li Shan – who seemed set to put an end at last to the era of Bishop Fu Tieshan’s subservience to the party and his steadfast refusal to seek reconciliation with the Holy See – thanked the Chinese government for its help and support for every aspect of the Church's life, vowing that he would continue to hold high the standard of "loving the fatherland and loving the Church," and follow the path of the "independence and self-governance of the Church" [from Rome], seeking to make the Catholic Church a model for building a harmonious society.

In all of these speeches and statements, the tone and slogans used are characteristic of the language of the party, and of the most radical period of communism in China, that of the Cultural Revolution. The faithful are astonished, and are wondering how in the world their pastor could turn so quickly into a Red Guard, showing even more servility toward power than his predecessor did.

Bishop Li Shan was known as a good priest, simple, not very broad-minded but faithful to the pope, capable of arousing passion in the young and particularly open to the underground Church, the one not recognized by the government. His speeches against "foreign states" and the underground Church represent a 180-degree turn in his way of thinking.

According to information obtained by "Asia News," the author of the Christmas Eve speech was not Bishop Li Shan, but the secretary general of the Patriotic Association in Beijing, Shi Hongxi, known for his extremist views. Other sources say the bishop got the speech at the last minute, giving him no opportunity to look through it. But the repetition of the same slogans in three different situations raises the fear that, even if he does not agree with what he read, the bishop is at the very least a puppet of the Patriotic Association.


THE POPE: THE CPCA IS "INCOMPATIBLE WITH CATHOLIC TEACHING"


The CPCA, founded in 1958, has for half a century tried every means possible for dividing the Church, ordaining bishops without the authorization of the pope. In recent years, many bishops of the patriotic Church have asked forgiveness for this separation, and thanks to the generosity of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, they have been reconciled with the Holy See. In January of 2007, the Vatican itself announced that "almost all" of the official bishops recognized by the government are now in full communion with the Holy See as well.

The public letter from Benedict XVI to Chinese Catholics, dated June 30, 2007, reaffirmed this strong communion. But it also highlighted the fact that the CPCA is a structure contrary to the Catholic faith, warning that "the principles of independence and autonomy, self-management and democratic administration of the Church are incompatible with Catholic doctrine."

That the bishop of Beijing, ordained with the approval of the pope, should come to the defense of something that is "incompatible" with the Catholic Church is therefore a serious did feed for the Vatican. A blog run by a few Catholics calls Bishop Li Shan a "time bomb" that will go off against the Church of Rome.

According to information obtained by "Asian News," Bishop Li Shan has repented of his actions and has justified his behavior on the basis of the pressure that he had to undergo. In effect, precisely because of the pope's letter and the restoration of unity among almost all the Chinese bishops, the United Front and the Patriotic Association have, for over a year, launched a series of initiatives to bring the official Chinese bishops back into obedience – to them. The United Front and the CPCA summon them constantly, require them to participate in conferences, meetings, study sessions, political sessions, making their pastoral work very difficult. The bishops are not even able to meet among themselves alone, and go from a life in solitude – at the mercy of the CPCA secretaries – to collective gatherings under the control and indoctrination of the United Front and the state administration for religious affairs.


THE TIMID LETTER OF CARDINAL BERTONE


To keep the bishops united and halt the influence of the CPCA, on April 22, 2008, the Vatican sent a letter to all the Chinese bishops in communion with Rome. Signed by Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the letter took months to reach the 90 or so bishops in the official and underground Church. Some of them didn't get it until December of 2008.

In it, Cardinal Bertone stressed the "fundamental principles of Catholic teaching" and recalled the value of communion between the bishops and the pope, and among themselves. For this reason he asked all of the prelates, in the pontiff's name, to "discharge courageously your office as pastors," promoting the catholicity of the Church and seeking greater freedom of activity through direct and respectful dialogue with civic authorities. The cardinal also urged on the bishops "to act together," to demand the right to meet as a group and to discuss their problems freely, without any outside interference. Finally, he suggested that the bishops find a "correct attitude to adopt with regard to those entities to which reference is made in section 7 of the papal document." The reference is to CPCA and to its idea of an independent and self-governing Church.

Cardinal Bertone's letter is important because for the first time it asks the official and underground bishops to meet. But it avoids giving them a joint approach to take toward the CPCA.The previous letter from the pope had noted that this is contrary to Catholic doctrine, but did not ask official bishops to resign from them.

Some underground bishops have said that a more decisive stance on the part of the Holy See would be more effective.

So far, official bishops have tried to resist CPCA pressure, but with few results. At the same time, some underground bishops have tried to get government recognition without joining the CPCA, but no local government has accepted this solution, reaffirming instead the central role played by the CPCA in the government’s religious policies.

This problem is even more urgent because national meetings are being prepared to pick the new chairman of the CPCA and the head of the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China, a sort of episcopal conference not recognized by the Holy See. The election to these two posts is expected to take place at an upcoming national congress of Catholic representatives. It should be held soon, since both posts have been vacant for some time: patriotic bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, elected president of the CPCA in 1998, died in 2007. Joseph Liu Yuanren, the patriotic bishop of Nanjing, elected president of the bishops' council in 2004, died in 2005.

Imposing controls on bishops, forcing them to attend conferences and political sessions, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ordination of Chinese bishops separate from Rome, are part of the United Front and the CPCA's attempts to break the will of official bishops and get them to submit to the traditional structures of control.

Many Catholics, both official and underground, are afraid that without clear and specific guidelines from the Holy See, official bishops will be forced by events and individual interpretations of the papal letter into making compromises.


A SURVEY AMONG THE CHINESE BISHOPS


In recent months, more than a year after the release of the pope's letter to Chinese Catholics, "Asia News" conducted a survey among Chinese bishops as to their attitudes towards Benedict XVI’s guidelines. Some answers are startling. On the one hand, some bishops praise the letter and the pontiff's teachings, which urge unity with him and among themselves. On the other hand, they do not seem at all disturbed by the fact that the document describes the CPCA’s programs and policies as "incompatible" with Catholic doctrine.

So in their replies, a number of the official bishops lavishly praised the Association for its "help to the Church" and the "needy," as well as for "taking care of religion." Some bishops in central China went so far as to say that the CPCA and the Church "are one and the same."

A Catholic from northern China told "Asia News": "Official bishops lack guts. When Beijing tells them to get together, they get going right away. This way they fail to follow the directions set out in the papal letter and run the risk of going back to a past of slavery. Sadly, underground bishops, who have always maintained unity with the pope even if it cost them their life and liberty, are almost all under house arrest. A few have disappeared; others are behind bars."

Other Catholics, especially in Beijing, accuse the bishops of being greedy for power and money; this said to be why they accept compromises. "Perhaps Bishop Li Shan is not personally ambitious," said one worshipper in Beijing’s Nantang Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, "but he is certainly surrounded by people whose ambition knows no bounds, who are willing to accept any compromise to get what they want, and are prepared to sell the little freedom the Church still has in order to please the government."

A priest from the underground Church is somewhat more lenient. "These new bishops in the official Church are young, 40 something,: he said. "They have never lived in a free society. For it is self-evident that Christians must be under the control of the state even in strictly religious matters. Besides, the great figures of the Chinese Church are long gone so that they find themselves without role models."

Many bishops and believers are afraid that given this situation of weakness, 2009 might see a new series of unlawful ordinations, without the permission of the Holy See, designed to build up a core of "patriotic" prelates, all obedient to the Party. This would stop conversions to Catholicism, especially among intellectuals who are rediscovering Church teaching as the foundation for their demands for freedom and respect for the individual.


CARDINAL ZEN: NO MORE COMPROMISES


Out of this ambiguous and confused situation, the clear voice of Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong has emerged, asking bishops and priests in the official Church to be more courageous and resist making compromises with the regime.

In an article published last 4 January in the diocesan weekly "Gong Jiaobao"" (later reprinted in English by the Sunday Examiner), the cardinal urged Chinese bishops and priests to follow the example of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and always resist the government when it says or does something that is contrary to the faith. In his article "Inspiration from St. Stephen’s Martyrdom," Cardinal Zen analyzes developments in China’s Catholic Church over the last two years, noting the number of illicit ordinations in 2006, attended by a dozen bishops approved by the Vatican, who went out of fear or deception.

He said that "a ray of hope" shone through in 2007 with a meeting at the Vatican to discuss the situation of the Church in China, and above all with the publication of the pope's letter to Chinese Catholics. The bishop of Hong Kong emphasizes that in the letter, the pope affirms that the goals of the Chinese Patriotic Association are contrary to the Catholic faith, and adds that the CCCPCA itself was a "major cause of the Church’s problems in China."

With the regard to this last point the cardinal strongly criticized certain interpretations of the papal letter, especially one by CICM missionary Jerome Heyndrickx, who said that all of the bishops should join the official Church. In reality, the cardinal says, the pope "admires their uncompromising faithfulness and encourages them to "persevere," as Benedict XVI stated in his Angelus address on the feast of Saint Stephen in 2006.

Zen says that given the danger of serious compromises, the experience of the underground Church is even more valuable. For this reason, the cardinal was blasted the celebrations that on 19 December of last year marked the 50th anniversary of illicit episcopal ordinations in China.

For the bishop of Hong Kong, there is nothing to celebrate, because the system of "self-ordination" is the work of 1950's extreme left-wing radicals who saw the pope as an agent of imperialism. But this view is outdated, at a time when China is celebrating 30 years of economic reforms implemented to oppose this radical mentality.

"Forcing Catholics to go against their conscience is a great insult to the dignity of every Chinese citizen," the cardinal writes. "This is why there is nothing to be proud of or to celebrate. Such celebrations are a sign that the establishment won’t let go, that it wants our great nation to bear the mark of backwardness."

For the cardinal, it is clear that all of the hoopla over the CPCA’s 50th anniversary, its "self-ordinations," is a preparation for meetings to elect the new presidents of the Patriotic Association and the Chinese bishops' council. He suggests the bishops should boycott the next meeting to which they are summoned. "Isn’t taking part in such an ‘assembly’ a show of total contempt for the papal letter? Isn’t it a slap in the face? Can your conscience let you do this? Will God’s people accept it? Will it bring any honour to our nation? Will there be hope for a return to normalcy and the enjoyment of freedom of religion?"

In the article, Cardinal Zen says that some members of the Chinese Church are praising compromises and ambiguity. "Some people, talking to the brothers in the underground community, seem to be saying: ‘We are very smart to accept a compromise! We are in communion with the Holy Father and at the same time are recognised by the government. They give us money and we take care of our faithful. You instead prefer to go to prison; you would rather die. And then what of your faithful; abandoned, with no one taking care of them’. "

The cardinal continues: "So, martyrdom has become a stupid thing? That’s absurd; a short-sighted view! Reaching compromises might make sense as a short-term strategy but it cannot last forever. Being secretly united with the Holy Father and at the same time affiliated with a Church that declares itself autonomous from Rome is a contradiction."

Finally, Cardinal Zen ends with a fraternal appeal: "Dear brother bishops and priests, look at the example of Saint Stephen and all the martyrs of our history! Remember that suffering for the sake of the faith is the basis of victory even if right now it might appear as defeat."