Tibet Inside China – 1/5

April 11, 2010

In 2008, I wrote a post about Tibet on another forum. Someone with a Tibetan sounding name left a comment in crude English calling me a “Communist rabbit”.

Name-calling seems to be popular these days. In America, people like Glenn Beck (FOX network), Rush Limbaugh (600 radio stations) and the Tea Baggers have developed name-calling into an art form—not much substance but colorful and angry.

The Tibetan government in exile’s Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche was quoted in “Good” magazine’s May/June 2008 Issue that six-million Tibetan Buddhists still lived in Tibet. He also said that Tibet has never historically been part of China. That isn’t true. Tibet was ruled by three of China’s Imperial Dynasties.

Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty 1277 – 1367

Tibet was first ruled by China during the Yuan Dynasty (1277-1367). Then, when the Ming Dynasty (1368-1643) reclaimed China, a Ming Imperial army was sent to Tibet to drive out the last of the Mongols–holdovers from the Yuan Dynasty. The Ming emperor ordered his army to stay.

When the Ch’ing (Manchu) Dynasty (1644-1911) came to power, the Chinese empire expanded further and Tibet remained in China. Later, I’ll provide evidence from a 1912 National Geographic magazine as proof.

Discover Wearing China’s Shoes or go to Tibet Inside China – Part 2

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition]. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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1 Comment | Buddhism, Buddhist, China, Chinese history, Communism, history, media, politics, Tibet | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Twin Disasters Shine a Light on Bias

April 10, 2010

In China, a coalmine is flooded and traps more than a hundred. The Huffington Post reports this and says, “The real issue for the government (China’s) is to learn the lessons from this…The fundamental issue is, the miners should never have been put in this situation in the first place.”

In another piece, “A West Virginia coal mine explosion demands action”, Washington Post. “A huge explosion at the Upper Big Branch coalmine…claimed the lives of 25 miners.” This happened even after Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response act to make it safer.

After the US Congress passed this tougher law, the company that owned the West Virginia mine was cited with several safety violations prior to the explosion but was allowed to continue operating.

It seems the miners didn’t speak out for fear of losing their jobs. True Slant.com said, “Interesting how the West Virginia state police are necessary to allow the mining company CEO to speak now. He probably wouldn’t need them if the miners had been allowed to speak months ago.”

The US Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech but that freedom was written to protect US citizens from the government—not to protect people from corporations. The Huffington Post was right about one thing, “The miners should have never been put in this situation in the first place.”

See Human Rights the Chinese Way http://wp.me/pN4pY-m7

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Leave a Comment » | America, business, China, economy, environment, government, media, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Media Demons

April 2, 2010

When I read it, I laughed. To me, it was obvious.

Definition for propaganda: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause; also: a public action having such an effect (Merriam Webster.com) Or—manipulation of information to influence public opinion.

In 1948, the CIA established Operation Mockingbird, a program designed to influence the American media to play an important role in the propaganda campaign against the spread of Communism. The CIA recruited journalists, who wrote for The Washington Post, New York Times, Time Magazine, New York Herald Tribune, Newsweek, Miami News, Chattanooga Times, etc.  By 1953, this CIA network had a major influence over 25 newspapers and wire agencies (like the Associated Press and United Press International).

Evidence suggests that Operation Mockingbird (or something like it) exists today. If so, whom would this operation target? After all, Cold War Communism is gone.

The reason I mention Operation Mockingbird in this post is because of something I read in the New York Times today—Journalists’ E-Mails Hacked in China. The first few paragraphs of this piece infer that China’s government is responsible. Later, the piece indirectly mentions there is no way to know who did it. In the last paragraph, we are not sure if Google is partially responsible. As a journalist, why organize the piece this way?

See Google Recycled http://wp.me/pN4pY-2r

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

An Update about China’s Criminal Justice System

April 1, 2010

Amnesty International (started in 1961) says,” The time is long overdue for China to fall into line with international law and standards on the death penalty and be open and transparent regarding its use of capital punishment.”

My question is, who rules China – the government of China or Amnesty International?  Without taking into consideration the cultural differences that cause the Chinese to appear secretive, Amnesty International’s “demand” is uncalled for. Change takes time and change in China (a culture born about 2205 B.C.) does appear to be taking place. To understand the Chinese better, read what Peter Hessler has to say.

A few years ago, we would not have seen anything like this from China’s state-run English-language newspaper, China Daily, that inmates in China’s 2,700 pretrial detention centers suffer bullying and torture from fellow prisoners and police officers, and some criminal justice experts want a neutral body to take over the centers from the police to curb the abuses.

Meanwhile, the United States was the only nation in the Americas to carry out executions in 2009 with fifty-two executions. Saudi Arabia executed 69 people.  Iran executed at least 112 people in the 8 weeks after the last presidential election (we heard about that since Iran is on the list of evil countries).

See China Law and Justice System 

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Leave a Comment » | America, China, Chinese Culture, government, legal system, media, politics | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Double Standard

March 29, 2010

Drug possession is different from bribery. However, I am going to compare the two to make a point that when things happen in China to a foreign national, the reaction is different in the Western media than if it happened in a country like Turkey, a member of NATO.

In Turkey, penalties for violating Turkish laws, even unknowingly, can be severe. Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Turkey are particularly strict, and convicted offenders should expect jail sentences with heavy fines.

In China, there is a bribery trial taking place. It has to do with several executives from Rio Tinto Ltd, the world’s # 2 iron ore producer. Stern Hu, an Australian citizen and a Rio Tinto executive, is on trial for bribery and stealing commercial secrets. Hu says he has been treated fairly and admitted guilt.  Yet, the Australian government is concerned about equal treatment in Chinese courts controlled by the Communist Party. Hu may get five years in jail. Source Reuters

In another case in America, Tai Shen Kuo was a spy for China. He bribed a CIA agent who had the highest clearance. Kuo was born in Taiwan but became a naturalized American citizen. Kuo was sentenced to fifteen years in jail and there was no outcry in the Western media. The CIA agent, a Caucasian, got five years.

Do you see the double standard?

See Power Corrupts http://wp.me/pN4pY-40

 

2 Comments | business, China, media, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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