Not only:
Perhaps the Chinese government is feeling a little less worried lately about losing public support? Perhaps they are less worried that people will turn against the Communist Party after reading something in the Western media, now that it is no longer fashionable in many circles to believe what the Western media reports?
But also:
“A key reason why Hu was picked by Deng Xiaoping in 1992 as a future leader was the ruthless and efficient way in that he put down the riots in Lhasa in March 1989,” the source said. “19 years later, however, commander-in-chief Hu and his protégés have failed to contain the disturbances in spite of the larger troop presence in the autonomous region.”
So as I mentioned before, I either do or do not no Jack about Tibet beyond what I've seen in the movies (although it was interesting seeing that Brad Pitt flick in Taipei; there was an audible gasp when something was said about the "evil Chinese"), but anyway I found this Op-Ed by Ian Buruma in today's L.A. Times to be useful, although it's possible that I'm just too ignorant to know what a load of baloney it is...
Posted by: godoggo | March 26, 2008 at 05:06 PM
BTW I imagine the thing about my ignorance may have sounded sarcastic, but it wasn't meant to be.
Posted by: godoggo | March 27, 2008 at 06:38 AM