Comments on: “In the Name of Human Rights, Set Free All Tibetan Political Prisoners”

By: Otto Kerner

Otto Kerner — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 03:17:01 +0000

Do most Western people know what “Bai”, or “Zhuang”, or “Miao”, or even Manchu people are? Tibet is sort of famous for being famous, like Paris Hilton.

The Tibet issue is, I think, more compelling for activists than the Bai or the Zhuang issue, because it has a simple and compelling solution: home rule, either through independence or genuine autonomy. I’m not sure how effective a solution home rule would be for the issues that most other minority groups in China deal with.

Regarding, “As for my race, the Han, well who cares about our human rights?”, I’m really not sure what you mean. There are lots of activist groups in the West that are interested in human rights in China in general.

By: KrisBelucci

KrisBelucci — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:26:06 +0000

Great post! Just wanted to let you know you have a new subscriber- me!

By: keithtelluride

keithtelluride — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:47:24 +0000

Dear Woodoo and all other friends,
I now live far from China and Tibet and really appreciate all your comments. All individuals deserve support for living life as they desire. Tibetans perhaps gather more support and comment from outside of China than other minorities because the Tibetan culture is geographically widespread and the Tibetan theology is so well developed. The Han society is dominant in China so there is a reasonable bias and desire to protect minority interests from majority control. I think the Han cultural future is assured, whereas Tibetan culture is at risk. Help though, is strongest individual to individual and I personally have helped Han friends when I could.

By: C. Custer

C. Custer — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:24:46 +0000

It’s a good point wooddoo. As you know, I just translate random stuff I think is interesting, more or less, so point me in the direction of some blogs of other ethnic minorities and I’ll translate them, too. As you also know, I suffer no delusions about Tibetans being angels, although I’m not sure that part of your post was directed at me.

With that said, one of my best friends — OK, my best Chinese friend — is Manchu, but she really doesn’t associate super strongly with that as an ethnicity. Living in Harbin, there were obviously a lot of ethnically Manchurian people but it never really came up as something that was important to any of them, it was mostly just trivia at the dinner table sort of thing. Probably that’s not as true in the countryside though, and I think most other non-Manchu, non-Tibetan minorities probably have stronger ties to their cultures than Manchurians do. Anyway, I’ve forgotten my point so I’m going to leave it at that.

By: wooddoo

wooddoo — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:24:01 +0000

My first post didn’t go through, so here’s the shortened version:

Two of my closest friends are a Manchu and a Miao. How come I never ever ever saw a westerner campaigning for their cultural rights? Do the majority of westerners even know that other ethnic groups exist in China besides the angels on earth Tibetans and the evil Han Chinese?

By: wooddoo

wooddoo — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:17:32 +0000

And it seems the West is far, far more interested in the plight of the Tibetans than other ethnic groups. Who cares if a Bai person or a Zhuang person doesn’t enjoy more rights than the Tibetans? In China, there is only one ethnic group whose human rights are violated, and that’s Tibetans (sometimes you can throw in Uyghurs as well). Other 55 ethnic groups are living in a paradise on earth.

How come that Tibetans deserve more attention than two of my closest friends, a Manchu and a Miao? I have NEVER NEVER NEVER seen a westerner campaigning for their cultural rights. As for my race, the Han, well who cares about our human rights. There’s a billion more where we come from, isn’t there?

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:00:53 +0000

Woeser is an example to all Chinese who blindly accept the party line on Tibet. She went and saw for herself and has campaigned tirelessly for an end to the gross violations of human rights in the region.

And well done Chinageeks for bringing Woeser and the plight of Tibetans to a wider audience.

By: C. Custer

C. Custer — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:38:38 +0000

Yes, they are, and thanks for reminding me, I meant to add a note about that!

By: jdmartinsen

jdmartinsen — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:30:51 +0000

Thanks for the translation. Tibetan names are always a joy to translate, aren't they? I wonder if 荣杰阿扎 is Ronggyal Adrag, who's listed in the CECC database as "荣吉阿扎(音)." The dates and descriptions seem to match (pdf link).

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Hao Hao Report — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:26:39 +0000

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