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Now, compare the Chinese response to the Tibet violence or the silly Olympic Torch. The Tibetans maybe not be totally innocent, but has anyone condemned the overuse of force or even attempt to change the Tibetan culture and religion? It indicates the Chinese feel that their Nation is Supreme over the Individual - Legalism!
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Ray, while the Chinese response is rather protective of the CCP and its treatment of the Tibetans, I still do not believe that it is the result of widespread Legalism. From the posts on this board by defenders of the CCP, I have concluded several points why they do not condemn the Tibetan treatment:
1.) They think that the cultural encroachment upon the Tibetans is more than compensated by economic, birth, and employment policies set aside for the Tibetans.
2.) They believe that Tibetan culture contained too many flaws, such as slavery, a theocracy, and other confirmed nasty components that it is not worth saving.
3.) They believe that while a minority of Tibetans are extremely unhappy with the religious/cultural situation, the vast majority of Tibetans are in fact happy. (95% of them going by claimed monk/serf population split.) And that the uproar with the so-called genocide (I don't believe this part, genocide is what's happening in Darfur, Sudan, Rwanda. What's in Tibet is a walk in the park compared to those three places.) is stirred up by Western powers hostile to Chinese ascendancy.
Going by the three points above, I do not believe that Legalism is the root of Chinese complacency over the Tibetan treatment - rather, it's apathy. If similar policies were applied to Han, there would be a huge uproar. However, Tibetans are a minority in China, with very little representation in the public mind - hence, not many people actually care what happens to Tibetans. Most Chinese are focusing upon the materialistic world nowadays, judging success by the amount of money you earn, the brand of your clothing, house size, and your car. To them, cultural decay can be dismissed as insignificant so long as the materialistic needs of the people in question are met. This is not a result of Legalism, but rather a drastic shifting of cultural values that comes from a nation's rapid entry into capitalism. As long as the CCP can give them plausible-sounding reasons why the Tibetans are NOT being oppressed, they're more than happy to continue making money and drinking coffee at Starbuck's. This is not a result of the consideration of the State over the individual, it's a result of general apathy toward cultural decay. As for the overuse of force, it's not widely discussed in Chinese forums (banned), and the recent Lhasa riots have not made the Tibetans look like a pacifistic people being abused - rather, it's the opposite.