40% of China's mineral resources are tapped from the region of Tibet. No wonder an all-out war of psychology is currently underway in order to preserve the status of Tibet as being under the sovereign jurisdiction of China.

>>And that is THE point: when it comes to Tibet, it is for the Tibetans to decide whether the Chinese government are the Good Guys. <<

Most people don't speak Tibetan, while most Tibetan spoken Tibetans live in Tibet, so the author's statistics really means a lot. Actually it's common sense in democratic society.

As you know, democratically elected Australian politician usually demonstrates their achievement by school teacher's number and infrastructure improvement etc.; while people express their concerns on doctor's shortage etc.

Also, after US invaded Iraq, CNN demonstrated Iraq became democratic because there are more satellite antenna number.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd just launched a "CLOSE GAP" program. I am look forward know what kind of saintly program it is.

>>40% of China's mineral resources are tapped from the region of Tibet<<

in Tibet only or plus other region, 40%? where the data from? bottom line, in past 1,300 years, China didn't benefit much from Tibetan mineral.

>>No wonder an all-out war of psychology is currently underway in order to preserve the status of Tibet as being under the sovereign jurisdiction of China <<

Nobody denies government decision is more rational than individual, so please tell us which country, USA or other major countries, declare Tibet is not part of China, today, 60 years ago, 200 years ago and 500 years ago.

... what ?... 500 years ago? there was no USA!... Then where is American Indian and its culture ? ... genocided ? !
But, there are tens of thousands of full time monks got their salaries from Chinese central gov now.

DaLai LaMa selection system was set up by chinese central gov, and some DaLai LaMa were directly nominated by central gov in the past hundreds of years.

And why not aboriginal declare independent, while waste time to claim land titles in court? As BHP, RIO profited billions every year...

Centra - I'm really glad you have entered into this thread. I think there are some people who have never heard the Chinese point of view other than from writers whom they suspect of having agendas.

Thus there is a danger that some peoples' views are formed after only ever having heard one side of the story. They have not had the opportunity to weigh up any situation which arises in China from differing stances.

As you have just pointed out: the parallels between the situation they describe and the situation with Australian aboriginals really does provide an opportunity to ask why, if unfairness towards minority groups is what angers them, they do not work harder to ensure that such things are not happening in their own back yards?

In the case of the politician Bartlett, who is calling for sanctions against the Olympic games on another thread, one wonders whether he was so vehement in calling for a ban on the Sydney games in the name of the human rights questions raised by members of the Aboriginal community in his own constituency in 2000?

Well CENTRA... it is abundantly clear that you are very much on the side of the CHINESE INVADERS in this matter... hmm do you have the same positive view of the 'invasion' of Western countries in China..the Opium wars.. the coastal trading centres which were backed up by gun boats?

By your logic they were allll 'ok'..but I'll bet you don't see it that way.

EVERYthing you have said so far is to justify cruelty, invasion and cultural genocide by CHINESE against Tibetans.

"West countries should be confident and democratic enough to let others choose their own system."

Is this April 1st? Is that a joke ? When did the Chinese CHOOSE their own system? it came out of the barrels of many GUNS.

Some gallant and brave Chinese TRIED to 'choose' and at Tien An Min Square they were squashed by tanks and their heads blown off with ak47s.

Why do you insult our intelligence by thinking you can just rattle off a few quick statements about history and suddenly we are going to celebrate Chinese PRC hegemonism, cultural imperialism and Economic exploitation of Tibet? We might do that.. when HELL freezes over.

ROMANY.. you are so desperate to find something 'good' in this.. I ask you.... if I told you "and you ARE going to be 'Christian' and if you refuse, I'm sending you off to a Gulag for the next 30 yrs" would you be thrilled? NO! of course not, so why even try to find 'middle ground' in this disgusting example of Chinese Militarist expansionist colonialism?

Its not a question of desperately trying to find something good, its more a question of trying to find something more fair: the truths as others see them.

Look, at Uni there were always posters and students manning stalls that said "Free Tibet". I took the pamphlets and I asked the people and what I heard was horrifying and I burned with righteous indignation. We all had this picture of Shangri la, with bells tinkling and happy, colourful people in verdant pastures and kind, wise monks smiling benignly upon everyone. We also thought this utopia was then invaded by steely-eyed men with bayonets and guns who turned it into a military state.

But then I come here and I find that shangri-la is actually barren wastes of rocky ground with dirty, starving peasants and snotty nosed kids without enough to eat and no schools or health care whose only hope is to send a son into a monastery at the age of 7 to ensure that, although he'll still suffer from cold and inadequate health care, at least he may have enough to eat. And the son is no more spiritual than I, and hates being separated from his family and is an ordinary little boy who wants to go to school and play with his mates. And instead of towns full of tanks and trucks and soldiers they're full of tourists and ordinary people...its a different picture.

Then recently I actually witness the distortions of the Western media. They're just like the distortions I saw about Papua New Guinea and South Africa. The same distortions which caused me, as a journalist, to give up a career on staff and go freelance all those years ago. And I still resent the way the media jerks all our chains.

So what I am saying is: there are so many shades between white and black - we should explore them all.