I wrote about that so I could write about this...

Greetings one and all. In my previous posts I talked about Tibetan history from the earliest times up until the Communist invasion and annexation of that independent country. And yes, I said it, Tibet was in fact, a free and independent country from 1912 until the time of the Chinese invasion of 1950. Once again. in order to understand and speak intelligently about the present, one must understand and have a knowledge of the past. So, I told you all of that so I could tell you all of this...

As I have shown, Tibet was independent until conquered by the Mongol's in the 13th century. In the early 1700s, Mongol power was broken by the Manchus and it was then that Tibet came under Chinese control. Tibet remained under Manchu dominance until the early part of the 2oth century when revolution in Beijing brought the Manchu dynasty down. The Republic of China still claimed Tibet to be a part of China but was unable to enforce that claim. Seizing the opportunity, Tibet declared her independence. Due to the difficulties that the Nationalist Chinese Government faced, Tibet was able to remain free until 1950. The Communists invaded in that year and embarked on a path to make Tibet and it's people Chinese. Those are the facts.

Now for my opinion...

For all of our lives (those of us presently in Engl 112) Tibet has been a part of China. Apart from that fact, most of us knew little about Tibet. But suddenly Tibet has been thrust into the spotlight, a main character on the world stage. Why is that? With China hosting the Olympics, many Tibetans recognized that the time was right for them to put their case in front of the whole world. So, starting March 10th, the demonstrations began. First in Tibet and then in neighboring provinces with large Tibetan populations. After that, the demonstrations followed the Olympic torch to other countries as well. We saw demonstrations in Paris, London and San Francisco. There were demonstrations and protests in other cities around the world in addition to those that hosted the torch. Why is all of this happening?

All of this is happening because the Communist government of China invaded and annexed Tibet. China has oppressed the Tibetan people and has suppressed Tibetan culture. They have taken Tibetan resources and have settled many ethnic Chinese in Tibet in an effort to maintain their hold on the country. Today, as in 1959 and 1989, the Tibetan people have had enough. They have risen up in defiance of Chinese rule. And, with the world's attention focused on China and the Olympics, the time is right to draw attention to Tibet's plight.