Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray
Zeng,
I am not being difficult, but why are the Tibetan still fleeing Tibet?
There was this case (which was also discussed here on WAB) where the Chinese border guards had shot and killed some Tibetan trying to flee Tibet.
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Reasons that Tibetans fleeting Tibet
China is a poor country based on GDP per capital. According to UN data, China has around 85 million people live under 1$ per day. Even Han Chinese are still fleeting China to look for a better life through legal or illegal ways.
Economically, Tibet is the poorest region in China . Some Tibetans want to find a better life somewhere else.
Today, transportation to Tibet becomes easily available to everyone. Many poor and un-educated Han Chinese pour into Tibet to look for a better life as migrating workers. Those people normally are not that sensitive and respectful to the local culture and religion. Han Chinese have experienced all kind capitalism competitions but many Tibetan are still naive traditional religious people that have no experience of brutal capitalism competitions. They are in awkward situation when compete with Han Chinese for business.
Han Chinese work hard and spend time and money on making money and education of kids. Tibetans spend significant of time and money on religious events. For the poor Tibetans, it is not surprise at all to donate half of their hard earned money to temples.
When we visit Tibet , we take car, train or air plane to Lhasa . Some Tibetans walk there. It is not because they don't have the transportation; it is because they want to show their respect to god. Chinese government is more than happy to provide rides for Tibetan pilgrims to Lhasa to make propaganda and is doing so periodically. But not all of them want to take the rides.
Some wouldn't even walk on their feet, they walk on their kneel all the way hundred of miles to Lhasa even today. That normally takes years to get there. Some even walk their kneel all the way back. Then, he will become the most respectable Tibetan in his community and become the example for other young Tibetans to follow. I would even like to show respect to someone did something like that but what is the contribution of those guys to themselves and to their community.
There are very strange Tibetan Buddhism practices. When a young monk went into a monastery, he put himself in a cave and built a permanent wall to close the cave only leave a small hole that people can leave him meal through the small hole. He wouldn't even speak with the person who sends meal to him and wouldn't see the person who sends meal to him. By the day, the meal is not taken, and then people know the monk inside has gone to the heaven. I remembered that some of those monks lived in the caves for more than 50 years before die. Their names become the names of the god or ghost and immortalized.
Story like these sounds unbelievable to the modern human beings, but existing in Tibet . Although those stories don't apply to most of the Tibetans but are respected and honored by Tibetans. Tibetans, especially the rural Tibetans will tell you the greatest deeds of those monks.
During Mao's time, all these activities are prohibited. Even many temples were destroyed mainly by Tibetan red guards but influenced by Maoism. Today, Tibetans started these things again. Anyone visit Lhasa can see some of them walk on keel to the temples everyday.
According to the statistics, the poorest regions in Tibet and Tibetan living region are those regions that have the highest "Temple to people ratio" and highest "monks to non-monks ratio".
I didn't even go to some of the Tibet life and religion rituals yet. I am worried that the moderators of the forum may feel my comments fall into attacking other's life style and religion. If you are interested in Tibet culture and religion, I can recommend some English materials written by Westerners. They talked about the heaver side of the Tibetan life. Also, I can recommend some Chinese materials written by Chinese. They are talking about the lighter (happy) side of the Tibetan life. Chinese authors are not allowed to write too much heaver side of the Tibetan life. Some Chinese did and were punished by government in order not to offend Tibetans. I think everyone on this forum know the shocking ritual of Tibetans treating their dead. In China, it is illegal to write and photograph this ritual.
As educated Han Chinese, when we see and hear the heaver side of the Tibetan life, we got very complicated feelings, shock, unbelievable, sad, and so sad even become respectable. I really love those rural Tibetans; they are the sweetest people on the earth. They are so devoted to their faith and believe the goodness will come out from those unbelievable deeds. I even feel the admiration. I never believed anything in that kind of faith.
But the un-educated Han Chinese wouldn't have that kid of feelings. They would like to take all the advantages that they can take. Also, they wouldn't respect Tibetans life style and religion. Ask the migrating Han Chinese workers in Tibet, they may tell you that Tibetans are silly to do those useless things.
It is really unfair to the Tibetans. I acknowledge that Han Chinese have those greed and racist people who discriminate Tibetans. But these kinds of discriminations are not government actions. They are individual actions.
On the other hand, from Dharamsala India , Dalai Lama tells Tibetans that they are doing the greatest things in the world and come here; you can do these things all your life without disturbed and discriminated. Some Tibetans will go there.
Anyway, shooting Tibetan when they leave is a terrible thing to do. If it really happened, it should never happen, especially should never happen again. The border guarder who did that should be punished if he was not doing self-defense.
If you only visit Lhasa and talk to urban Tibetans, especially those who can speak Chinese or even English, then, there is not much difference between them and Han Chinese. You will meet all kind of good or bad Tibetans. They are quite capable for brutal capitalism competition. That is really the cost of the modernization. Then, Dalai Lama got the example of modernization being bad.
Here is the breathtaking beauty of Mount Kailas or Kang Rinpoche (Precious Jewel of Snows) in Tibetan or ¸ÚÈʲ¨Æë in Chinese in the eye of an Indian artist. It is the holly mountain for Tibetans. I think that it is also a holly mountain for Indians. Today, it becomes a holly mountain for Han Chinese too. When we visit there, we walk around the holly mountain along a large outer cycle one turn and a small inner cycle one turn. Some Tibetans walk around the holly mountain turns by turns for months. But anyone can feel the holiness of the mountain when you get there and start to believe the most unbelievable stories from Tibetans.
Kailas: Manasarovar & Tibet
If you can read Chinese, please read:
Éñɽ¸ÚÈʲ¨Æë