“A solution can only be found through dialogue,” Bild [news] quoted [Steinmeier] as saying. “The T___ans want to preserve their culture, China wants political stability — with that in mind, the two sides need to approach one another.”

While it’s true that Beijing is an authority figure that should be respected by all according to Confucian principles, T___ans follow their spiritual leader, the DL, not necessarily Confucius. So, it may be difficult for Beijing to get the unconditional support from T___ that they demand. In this case, Beijing may need to bend the rules a little to get what they want and enter talks with the DL, as Steinmeier suggests.

But at any rate, it appears that T___ isn’t held to the same standard as the US, since it becomes a HR issue. I’ve noticed in politics that when someone says they want equal rights, what they really mean is they want more power than the groups they are protesting against. How many other poorer provinces are there in China that don’t get the same governmental support that T___ does. It seems that, if anything, T____ wants more power, even at the cost of their own people’s lives. The violence is not coming from the Han Chinese, but in fact, Han Chinese are the targets. My girlfriend’s mother lives in Sichuan, the neighboring province to T____. The rioters are being labeled as “terrorists” and have attacked people at random who they suspect to be Han Chinese. Isn’t it the duty of a country to protect their own people, even if it’s violence from within their own country? The DL is very cunning to spin this into a HR issue, when in fact, it is a T____ secessionist issue. He has, to this point in time, not denounced the riots.

T____ has been the victim of both the DL’s fuedal system and also that of the Chinese occupation. Unfortunately, they have suffered a lot, but currently under the Chinese administration, since they are the current occupiers. The people are generally peace loving buddhists, but have had just about enough of repression. But violence is not the answer. Secession is also not the answer.

I do not know the answer to this issue, to be honest, but from what I have read, I find extremists on both sides. Don’t just read the Western media and believe their spin, nor should you believe China’s spin either. The truth lies in the middle, neither of the two extremes. Maybe some others can contribute their thoughts on this issue.