Photos

Potala Palace, former residence of the Dalai Lama.

Further info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potala_Palace

Living in China, it is hard to bear with the constant attacks and misinformation about the Dalai Lama in the media. Much information cannot be accessed from here, so it is difficult for people to create a nuanced image of the situation.

Recently, the Chinese leadership decided to celebrate the anniversary for "the abandonment of serfdom in Tibet", which they equate by the Chinese occupation and ousting of the Dalai Lama from Tibet. The argument - which is scarily similar to George Bush's "either you are with us, or you are against us" - goes something like this: If you believe that serfdom and slavery, (which WAS a practice among some Tibetan aristocracy before the Chinese occupation) is bad, then you also agree that the Dalai Lama is evil and the Chinese occupation was a "liberation". If, on the other hand, you do not agree with the Chinese occupation and repression of Tibetan culture and autonomy, then you pr. definition agree that serfdom and slavery is good. (In Danish, we might say "God dag mand økseskaft" to this form of argument...).

Unfortunately, this is the kind of logic currently promoted by the Chinese leadership. I hope that some Chinese people manage to access information that will give them a more nuanced opinion about the issue...