Alex's Asian Adventure

We drove from Lhatse to Lhasa for basically the whole day, and I am back to Lhasa now. We had a 450km drive along some shitty roads. East of Shigatse, the roads are new and paved. Not much to report other than the fact that Lhasa is a wonderful town. However, I'll take this opportunity to voice a critical opinion that needs to be voiced, so please read it through.

We in the West often hear talk about Free Tibet and about how the Chinese are ruining Tibet and how horrible things are around here. Don't believe the hype. Here are some facts to bear in mind first:

• Tibet was under Chinese influence or Chinese rule for hundreds of years, starting in the 1700s (after the death of the 5th Dalai Lama) and until 1911 (the fall of the Qing Dynasty).
• When Col. Francis Younghusband came to Lhasa in 1904, he found the Potala Palace surrounded by a slum with feces in the streets, and not a shining beacon of faith and morality.
• The Tibetans had 40 years to run their country, 1911-1951, under the 13th & 14th Dalai Lamas. During that time, Tibet was a feudal theocracy and crimes were punished with things like eye-gouging and nose-removal.
• The Cultural Revolution was bad - very bad - and there is no denying that. It is also in the past, and is a source of great shame for the Chinese.
• Buddhism is actually very cruel in that if a person is suffering, they are allowed to suffer. Charity is a concept that doesn't seem to exist here in the way it exists in the West. The main source of charity is Western tourists.

We in the West often hear about Han Chinese invading Tibet and beating down the local culture. We don't hear about how the Chinese are pouring millions of dollars into rural infrastructure in Tibet. There was internet access provided by China Telecom in Lhatse, a town of maybe 1000 people located in the middle of nowhere. A railway will begin service into Lhasa on July 1st, 2006 (a year ahead of schedule). There are roads and tunnels being built all over the place, despite the fact that the geography here is far from friendly to construction. All of this costs money, and it's not Tibetan money.

The Tibetans I've talked to seem largely very happy about their new roads and tunnels, the railroad to Golmud (and the rest of China by extension), electricity, plumbing, irrigation, etc. They don't seem to be too concerned about their local culture. Pilgrims still circle the Jokhang. Monasteries are still operating, though certainly not on the scale they operated on before. Pilgrim busses still run to places like Samye. The reality is that Lhasa is a thriving city and not a slum. Tibetans seem to like that very much.

China also seems to be pushing for the education of Tibetans, and for bringing Tibetans into positions of local authority. However, the reality is that there aren't enough educated and qualified Tibetans yet. That's why there's a university here, and that's why that university is building a second campus.

In the West, we have a warped view of Tibet. Patrick French called this view the "Mind's Tibet" in his book, "Tibet Tibet". I have a copy of the book if anyone wants to borrow (and return). We think Tibet is a land of peaceful buddhists committed to their spirituality, and we forget that at the end of the day, these people need to eat and sustain themselves. We also don't realize that most Tibetans don't spend their days prostrated in front of the Jokhang, but instead have jobs. We don't realize that life in Tibet is actually very difficult, because of the climate and the lack of infrastructure. And we certainly don't realize that Tibet has a long history of violence, slavery, torture and poverty.

It is very arrogant of us Westerners to say "Free Tibet! Free Tibet!" and ignore the fact that today "Free Tibet" means a Tibet that does not receive massive subsidies from the Chinese government. "Free Tibet" means Tibet that would likely not be seeing the level of economic development it is enjoying now. Instead, "Free Tibet" means a Tibet that has the level of development of, say, Uganda. We need to lose this notion of the Mind's Tibet and stick to the facts. Today, Lhasa is an active, growing city, with paved roads to nearby urban centres like Shigatse, Gyantse and Tsetang. Just last year the Chinese opened a tunnel that cut the trip to Lhasa's airport in half, from two hours to one hour. I shudder to think of what this place was like ten years ago.

There are problems, for sure. Lets address the problems that exist, such as the unemployment among Tibetans, and not criticize the Chinese offhand. China has actually done a lot for Tibet in the past decade or two. Most Chinese people are wonderful, warm, friendly people. Lets get past the atrocities of the Cultural Revolution and try to accept that Tibet will remain Chinese, and that is not necessarily a bad thing for Tibetans.

I am done ranting now. Comments welcome.