Tibet

Last November I wrote about the foolishness of those who have "Free Tibet" bumper stickers on their cars but other than that, won't lift a finger to actually free Tibet. I'd recommend reading that short post before continuing on.

Given that background, how can this AP story from Yahoo do anything but discourage you?

Time, Tibetan exiles fear, is running out.

As the Dalai Lama ages, their dreams of returning to a free Tibet are slowly being crushed by a realization that they face a long bleak period without an international icon to plead their case before the world and keep them united...

This month, China realized its decades-old ambition of linking Tibet to Beijing by train, heightening Tibetan concerns that Beijing is trying to crush Tibetan culture by swamping it with Han, the majority Chinese ethnic group.

Another worry is that the Dalai Lama's nonviolent philosophy, which won him the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, may die with him, possibly triggering a return to arms that most agree would be doomed to fail.

You read my November post, so you know what the Dalai Lama would think of this. And then there's the bad faith in which the Chinese deal with Tibet:

This month, Tibet's Chinese-appointed leader, Champa Phuntsok, described the Dalai Lama as a threat to China's security and unity. While the Tibetan leadership described its envoys' talks with Beijing as "fruitful," Phuntsok said they made "no substantial progress."

Ah yes, the Dalai Lama is a threat to Chinese security. Of course he is.

How might the Chinese deal with Tibet's monks? Might they steer clear of meddling in religion?

In 1995 the Dalai Lama chose a 6-year-old boy as the new Panchen Lama, the No. 2 figure in Tibetan Buddhism, who traditionally guides whoever becomes the next Dalai Lama. China promptly put the boy under house arrest and he has not been seen since.

Six months later, it appointed its own Panchen Lama, then 5, and pressured Buddhists to accept him.

Guess we've answered that question.

So again I ask those of you with the "Free Tibet" bumper stickers on your cars--exactly how do you expect to make that happen? What do you think should be done, materially, to free Tibet?