A Tibetan man died this week after setting himself on fire in protest against Chinese rule. Tibetan Buddhists believe in non-violence; did this monks violate his religion ?This brings up the larger issue of Tibetan sovereignty. Up until 1949, Tibet was not officially considered a part of China.
Is Tibet a part or apart of China?
Is it the duty of any other nation to interfere with that country's own internal issues? When Canadian officials criticize the China/Tibet issue, the response from China has been a criticism of Quebec's sovereignty.
Tibet has been ruled by the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1951. The Tibetan sovereignty debate refers to two political debates. The first is whether the various territories within the PRC that are claimed as political Tibet should separate and become a new sovereign state. The second debate, was about whether Tibet was independent or subordinate to China in certain parts of its recent history (1). Tibet has always had a complex history with China for the past 1500 years.
ReplyDeleteTibetan Buddhism is the form of Mahayana Buddhism that developed in Tibet and the surrounding Himalayan region beginning in the 7 century CE. Tibetan Buddhism is the most well-known to the world through the office of Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual and political leader of Tibet and the winner of the Noble Peace Prize in 1989 (2).
The protests that are currently taking place in Tibet is having a big impact on the Tibetan Buddhists. There has been five deaths in a week there due to self-immolation, which is suicide using fire. Tibetan's recently have been setting themselves on fire to draw attention to the Beijing cultural and religious repression. These people are obviously very passionate and loyal to their religion and believe that them doing this can help make a change for the better and for their people. This is why I don't believe these monks have violated their religion. The reason for that is because, their definition of non-violence probably doesn't apply to suicide because they believe it is for the right cause. These Buddhists want Tibet to be free. A witness that saw a man set him self on fire, said after he did it he shouted " long live Dalai Lama", " free Tibet" and " let Dalai Lama return to Tibet" (3).
Although the Tibetan Buddhist believe that self-immolation is the right thing to do, I disagree. Personally, I believe there are different ways people can settle this problems and different ways to raise awareness to this situation, which probably wasn't their main focus anyway. Hopefully because of all the tragic deaths that has happened, politics and government can come up with a solution that is best for both Tibet and China.
(1)http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_sovereignty_debate
(2)http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/sects/tibetan.htm
(3)http://www.infowars.com/tibetan-man-sets-himself-on-fire-to-protest-china/
I agree with Malik, I believe that this mans attempt to protest and raise awareness about the ongoing issues between two neighbouring countries was entirely radical and unnessecary. With a total of 55 protestors lives lost while protesting their outrage toward the Chinese rule there is other, more civilized and more effective methods of raising awareness and achieving the sort of publicity this story has.
DeleteDue to the volitial nature of this type of reaction from the Tibetan people, China now accuse these behaviours as a part of the "seperatist struggle" they are experiencing. Proving their is better methods of allowing the global community to understand how desperately these people want to seek to free Tibet.
This is my weekly post.
ReplyDeletePersonally I do not believe this munk violated his religion. Since their beliefs state that they will not harm any other living beings.(1) He did not go around setting a bunch of people on fire to show how mad his people are. He took a very selfless action to raise awareness about the issues at hand. If he had of caused harm to other people then I would say that he has gone against his religion, but he hasn’t. This munk as stayed true to his religion and has protested in a way that people will notice it, but without harming other human beings.
In 1950 newly formed People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet.(2) China defeated Tibet’s tiny army and gained control of the nation. (2) Just six short years pasted and the monks broke out to try and regain control of their country.(2) They fought for three years leaving 86,000 Tibetans dead.(2) To this day China still has control over Tibet. (3) They gained it in 1950.(2)(3) Also the 13th Dalai Lama ruled Tibet in peace until he died in 1933. (2) All these wars started happing after the 14th Dalai Lama arrived.(2)
Obviously the Tibetan culture was able to survive easily and peacefully without the help from any other countries. They had a sustainable and structured government working for them.(2) I believe that China ruined this once peaceful empire. China exiled Tibet’s leader and since this event it’s been nothing but failed efforts to try and get back their country.(3) The only reason why China has kept control of this country for so long is because Tibet does not have the technology or the man power to win a battle with the big and strong Chinese army.
China has no right to interfere with Tibetan problems they only reason they are is because they can. If Tibet had any kind of army this might of happened but Tibet would of regained control by now. I think it’s wrong and I hope the Dalai Lama returns after 40 years of exile.(3)
There is a big difference between invading a country and taking over control than a province within an already established country that has been apart of that country for many years with no major wars or deaths between the two parties. The biggest difference between these two examples is that the biggest battle between Quebec and Canada was the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. The battle only involved 10,000 troops. Meanwhile while the munks tried to take back Tibet 86,000 Tibetans died and that doesn’t even included Chinese deaths.(2) China’s battle in trying to control Tibet has been more violent and more heard about event through out the world.
1) http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhism/sects/tibetan.htm
2) http://asianhistory.about.com/od/china/a/TibetandChina_3.htm
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Tibet
4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Plains_of_Abraham
In my opinion the self immolation that the Tibetan monk commited was not an act of violence but rather one of sacrifice, showing just how trapped and victimized Tibetans feel due to China's actions.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSetting oneself on fire as a way to protest seems to be a fairly common thing, especially in Tibet. Since March 2011, dozens of people have set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule (1).Just this week four Tibetan men have resorted to such an act.This does not just happen in Tibet though, it happens in many places throughout the Eastern world. Just last month a Vietnamese woman set herself on fire in protest of her daughters arrest and conviction, over what she had written in a blog(2). A Tunisia man in Israel, just this July, had set himself on fire in protest. In December 2010, a man helped set off the Arab Spring when he acted this way as well (3). So, it is a very common thing that happens around the world.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel like a lot of people choose to take such a drastic approach to protesting, is because they are not heard any other way. For example, Vietnam has terrible human rights and that mother who had set herself on fire even mentioned it was her only way to be heard (2). Many places we see this happening, are places that do not have democracies and good human rights. So, if the people do stand up and fight this in a North American matter, do we really think they would listen? I believe these people truly think this is their only way to convey their message. Also, depending on their religion this may be the only non-violent way they can think of, which will get their message across.
(1) http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/26/tibetan-man-4th-in-week-sets-self-on-fire-as-protests-against-china-intensify/
(2) http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/harsh-prison-sentences-for-3-vietnamese-bloggers/
(3) http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-protester-sets-himself-on-fire-at-rally-7945159.html
This is my post for this week...
ReplyDeleteSince March 2011, nearly 60 Tibetan monks have set themselves on fire in protest against Chinese rule. This self immolation is a way to fight against Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region(1). China claims that Tibet has always been part of its territory. The Tibetan Government in Exile claims that Tibet was an independent state until the PRC invaded Tibet in 1949-50; this was the Battle of Chamdo. It was a military campaign by the People's Republic of China against the Tibetan army. This is all about sovereignty and until the conflict ends the protests will continue.
This controversial way of protesting has been going on for centuries and I don't think that it's going to make any difference. Some Buddhists think that suicide is violence and therefore goes against their religion, but some people could argue that suicide does not affect others. The protests bring to light the crisis in Tibet and give it the media attention is deserves. It's unfortunate that these peaceful monks have to give their lives and take such drastic measures to continue to live in the manner in which they are accustomed.
(1): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221784/Tibetan-monk-dies-setting-protest-Chinese-rule.html