For Tibet's monks, death by starvation?

According to the blog over at SFT (Students for a Free Tibet),



As the Chinese government continues its inhumane siege of major monasteries in and around Lhasa, a new danger is emerging for Tibetan monks: death by starvation.



Chinese military forces have surrounded the monasteries, cut off water and electricity, and are refusing to let Tibetans bring food and medicine to the increasingly starving (and potentially injured) monks.



This tactic is particularly inhumane, and yet historically appropriate for the Chinese Communist Party, which has a long history of massive collective punishment as a way of maintaining its control.



The major monasteries of Sera, Drepung, and Ganden are cut off, and sources in Lhasa report near-starvation among the monks. Tibet.net, the website of the Tibetan government in exile, is reporting that at least one monk has starved to death at the smaller Ramoche Monastery in central Lhasa.



The Chinese government is currently bringing some hand-picked foreign reporters on a carefully-scripted 3-day tour of Lhasa. These journalists should insist on being allowed to visit the monasteries to see the situation for themselves. China’s inhumane collective punishment against Tibet’s monks cannot be allowed to stand.



Does this sound like proper conduct for an Olympic host? Does this sound like proper conduct for any civilized country? Or does this sound like something out of the Middle Ages? Unfortunately, this is Tibet under Chinese occupation.

Wei Jingsheng speaks at Tibet protest opposite U.S. White House

On the afternoon of March 22, 2008, the Tibetans in the Washington DC metro area held a rally in the park just north of the Whitehouse. They protested the Chinese Communist government's killing of Tibetan people and monks. They also protested President Bush's insistence on attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition, Wei Jingsheng, was invited to attend and deliver a speech. The following was his message:

1. The whole world was shocked to learn that the peaceful protests of the Tibetans were suppressed with bloodshed by the Chinese Communist government. People of every country, including many Han Chinese, are sympathetic and are supporting your anti-suppression struggle.
   
   
2. The Europeans are pushing their leaders to refuse attendance at the Olympics Games. At this time, President Bush openly insists on attending the opening ceremony. This insistence is equivalent to encouraging the Chinese Communists' bloody suppression. It is very inadequate. It is against the conscience of the human race. It is also against the stand of the majority of Americans.
   
   
3. But it is only the current stand of President Bush. As the situation develops, if the Chinese Communists continue to suppress with force and refuse to negotiate, President Bush could change his decision any time. We trust that he will care about the lives and safety of the Tibetan people and their struggle for justice.
   
   
4. Many Han Chinese, including some Han Chinese within the ruling class of the Chinese Communists, are sympathetic to the Tibetans. They do not support the bloody suppression policy of the Chinese Government. Thus, the main strategy of the Chinese Communist Party is to sow discord of ethnic conflict between the Han Chinese and the Tibetans, in an effort to divert the people's attention and divert the conflict for the Chinese Communist Party.
   
   
5. I hope that you, Tibetan friends, will not be tricked by the Chinese Communist Party. You should stay together with the majority Han Chinese to fight against the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party. Only when people of all nationalities are united together, can we finish the autocracy of the Chinese Communist Party, and gain freedom and happiness for everyone.
   

At the end of the speech, Wei Jingsheng encouraged the Tibetan friends to continue their struggles until the Chinese Communists are willing to sit down for negotiation.

During the speech, Tibetan friends applauded enthusiastically several times. After the speech, they all came to shake hands with Mr. Wei to express their gratitude to the Han brothers, as well as wishing more Han Chinese friends would stand out to speak up for them, like what Mr. Wei had done recently in many news media in the USA, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Japan, etc.