Tanks in Tibet?

A few things to remember:

* May 23, 1951: Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet

* March 10, 1959: Anti-CCP sentiment results in the Tibetan uprising and a counterattack by the Chinese military kills tens of thousands of Tibetans.

* March 5 - 8, 1989: Thousands march in Lhasa to protest Chinese rule. Hu Jintao oversees imposition of martial law and "introduce[s] a system of control which permeate[s] all aspects of Tibetan life that [is] unprecedented since the Cultural Revolution in Tibet."

* June 4, 1989: The Chinese army kills an unknown number of student democracy activists in and around Tiananmen Square by shooting them with machine guns and running them over with tanks. Countless others are beaten, and jailed.

* April 4, 1990: The Seventh National "People's" Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China adopts the Hong Kong Basic Law, which says that "the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years" after the July 1, 1997 handover.

* July 1, 1997: Hong Kong's sovereignty is returned to China.

* July 1, 1999: Just two years after the Hong Kong Basic Law went into effect, Beijing has already reversed the decision of the Court of Final Appeal in an immigration case, casting doubt upon China's definition of "50 years."

* March 14, 2005: China enacts a so-called "anti-secession" law which "legislates" the arbitrary use of "non-peaceful means" against Taiwan.

* March 2, 2008: Icelandic singer Bjork performs "Declare Independence" in Shanghai, China and chants "Tibet, Tibet, raise your flag." The crowd goes wild. The UK Guardian portrays the event differently. (Of course "concertgoers hurriedly left" -- it was the last song of the show. Duh!)

* March 12, 2008: Chinese police fire tear gas on protesting Tibetan monks

* March 15, 2008: YouTube blocked in China, Tibet content likely to blame

* March 15, 2008: CNN is blocked in China.

* March 15, 2008: Hu Jintao re-elected as president amid Tibet turmoil, as if there's some kind of democracy in China. Even though he was the only "candidate," he somehow lost 0.3 percent of the "vote."

* March 15, 2008: China accuses 'Dalai clique' of masterminding Lhasa violence

* March 15, 2008: China gives Tibetan protesters surrender ultimatum

* March 15, 2008: "Witnesses said tanks and soldiers were out in force in Lhasa."

* March 15, 2008: In pure Orwellian form, Xinhua says Armed police rescue 580 people from Lhasa riot

* March 15, 2008: Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) says that the "ROC" government "is willing" to "give" Tibet autonomy (1:11 mark in the video behind that link), as if he actually has the imperial powers he imagines that he does. (Maybe he'll "grant" already-independent Mongolia "eventual independence" [終極獨立], too.)

* News reports are saying that "Chinese police have killed about 100 Tibetan demonstrators and injured many more," according to the Tibetan government-in-exile, while Xinhua is still reporting the number of casualties as "10."

* March 15, 2008: The ever-kowtowing Ma Ying-jeou -- perhaps more confused than usual because of the presidential campaign and his thugs getting caught -- chooses the strangest time to bring up a "peace treaty" with China. Anybody in their right mind would use this opportunity to put some political pressure on these lying murderers who have repeatedly demonstrated that they will kill you in the blink of an eye.

* August 8, 2008: Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, AKA the Genocide Olympics. Will people around the world open their eyes and boycott the world's largest, most horrific example of propaganda ever? Or will the "if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em" attitude allow them to gain the hegemony they've always desired?

With that information before you, you must wonder, what do the words "peace," "autonomy," and "50 years" mean to the government of China? They apparently have different definitions than the rest of the world.

HEY, WORLD! WAKE THE FUCK UP!

FURTHER READING:
* English translation of Tibet's version of the Seventeen-Point Agreement.

* English translation of China's version of the Seventeen-Point Agreement. (Note the use of the words "ethnic group" where Tibet's version uses the word "nationality.")

* A Simplified-Chinese version of the Seventeen-Point Agreement via gov.cn.

* "Nine Years After Hong Kong's Handover: An Analysis" (via mac.gov.tw) [.PDF, .HTML]

* Read how Hong Kong was originally supposed to be able to "cast ballots for their chief executive as early as 2007," but that's since been "reinterpreted" as maybe "2017."

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Flags raised: Taiwan, 台灣, Tibet, 西藏, Hong Kong, 香港, China, 中國, People's Republic of China, 中華人民共和國, PRC, 中共

Cross-posted at Taiwan Matters!

Labels: China, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, PRC, Taiwan, Tibet, 中共, 中國, 中華人民共和國, 台灣, 西藏, 香港