ANARCHIST OPINION:

THE FALSE FACE OF STATE REPRESSION:

The following is from the blog of Edward W., an anarchist of Chinese ancestry active in Toronto. His blog is linked to the Linchpin site. It's about his reaction to watching the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.

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Olympics Opening Ceremony: The White Washing of State Repression:
I just watched some clips from the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Definitely impressive and grand. But behind the hundreds of dancers wearing many of China's ethnic costumes is the mass state repression of these very ethnic groups represented. And we certainly cannot ignore the number of Han/Chinese workers displaced by the Olympics themselves and the attempt by Beijing to wall off working-class neighbourhoods considered an eye-sore* (yea! An eyesore as a result of your lack of concern for the interests of the working class). For who are these Olympics for? Certainly not the Chinese workers (whether Han or otherwise) as houses are torn down for 'green spaces' to promote a better image.

Today, I participated in a rally for Tibetan, Uighur, Burmese justice (there were also a number of Taiwanese protesters sporting Democratic Progressive Party shirts). I am a bit ashamed to have not heard of it before hand, but had just happened to cycle by. It was a decent action, with people chanting at the top of their lungs - though I did refrain from chanting Long Live Dala Lama (I support the Tibetan people not a theocratic 'leader').

I certainly attracted a few confused glances as one of the few Han Chinese amongst the crowd. At one point, a group of six or seven Tibetan protesters looked at me - as if I had something on my face or was seen as particularly good -looking; I am quite certain it was neither. And this is the problem, why are there so little Han people joining in opposition? The day before, I witnessed a large crowd of at least 200 Hans protesting against the repression of Falung Gong. We cannot pick and choose our injustices! We must oppose all forms of repression! This reminded me of a protest in Hong Kong against historical revisionism in Japanese textbooks on the topic of Japanese imperialism during WWII. Szeto Wah, a pro-democracy scholar in Hong Kong, came to the stage and expressed concern at the double standards held by the Chinese government: it's not ok for Japan to change history, but we are allowed to downplay if not outright censor the Tiananmen Square Massacre. He called on people to oppose both these injustices, to support the version of history held by oppressed people everywhere. As he was making this speech, I heard murmurs of confusions: "why is he talking about this here?", "what has this got to do with the protest?", "this is inappropriate!". Elements of the crowd began chanting pro-Chinese slogans to silence Szeto Wah, despite pleas from activists to hear Szeto Wah out. I was disgusted that day, and I am disgusted right now. We, as Han people, need to recognize that these struggles not only require cross-ethnic solidarity, but is a struggle faced by all of us. The repression of Tibetans, Uighurs, and other minority groups, are a part of the same processes displacing Han workers and widening the gap between the rich and the poor.

I have seen Tibetans stand side by side with the Burmese and the Uighurs. This is a plea for the Han-Chinese of Toronto, and indeed across the globe, to stand in solidarity with your brothers and sisters in Tibet, in Uighurstan, and in all places where repression is maintained.
*http://olympics.thestar.com/2008/article/472912 - article on the Star about this. I am obviously not a fan of Rosie Dimanno, who had written a number of classist (and not the good sorta classist) editorials, but journalists working for the mainstream press do a much better job criticizing foreign governments compared to their own, especially when it's in their interests to do so.

**My previous posts on Tibet
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=28125010#/note.php?note_id=107097...Some background on the issue
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=12139843162&id=28125010&index=6

A critical look at the mainstream free-Tibet movement and the privileging of their struggle over others by the Western media. In addition, I attached an old high school essay I wrote expressing my views on why Tibet and Uighurstan are examples of Han Chinese colonialism.
EdwardW's blog

TIBET:

A CHINESE ANARCHIST ON TIBET:

The following was originally published at the Linchpin/Common Cause site in Ontario. It has been reprinted at the Anarkismo site where a number of interesting comments have followed.

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A Chinese anarchist on Tibet by EdwardW - Common Cause (personal capacity)

Sunday, Apr 6 2008

I've spoken to some people briefly about Tibet, but it'd be interesting to have a deeper discussion

.I think the situation in Tibet has been way oversimplified by both the bourgeois capitalist press and some left-wing comrades alike.

Even though I am from China, having lived their practically all my life, I can't claim to have the strongest analysis as I have not studied too deeply into the situation. So my opinion here is simply from glancing over pieces of information and my own anecdotes from traveling in China.

Firstly, I'd be critical of the whole Western free-Tibet movement based around the Dalai Lama. They seem to have a whole fetish/romanticism of the social organization in Tibet before the Chinese invasion in the 1930s. But from what I've read, Tibet was a religious theocratic feudalism, hardly an ideal and very much as repressive as the system in place today. That is why I do not doubt that the Chinese invading army had some support from Tibetan workers and peasants who opposed this order.

That said, as most of us can agree on, the Chinese government is hardly a genuine communist state, and has become if anything as capitalistic as the West. The current situation in Tibet, and in Inner Mongolia/Uighurstan/Manchuria (possibly Manchuria anyways, since I haven't heard of any independence movement and haven't read anything about the situation there), in my belief, can be traced back to the Chinese revolution (when republicans, communists, and anarchists, brought down the feudal Qing Dynasty). Despite attempts by anarchists to reframe the struggles as between workers of all ethnicities against feudal and bourgeois oppressors, the republicans and communists were able to frame the conflict as between the minority Manchurian (who made up the Qing dynasty) and the majority Han. This coupled with the continuous conflict between the Japanese and the Chinese, and the often-heard depiction of the Han people as the "sickly of Southeast Asia" - Dong Ah Bang Fu, may have led to the development of a reactionary Han supremacist ideology (again, this is my personal opinion, and I have not studied enough about Chinese history to claim this to be a substantiated conclusion - the history of my people was denied from me by eurocentric schools in Hong Kong). The feeling that Hans need to justify themselves against being subordinates, may have led to the desire to dominate other ethnic groups in the region.

This is illustrated by the cultural genocide occurring in parts of China. I remember traveling to Inner Mongolia by train, where ethnic Mongolians had lost their language. I could not find anyone that could read some of the old Mongolian calligraphy and writing on temple walls etc. Ethnic histories and books have also been burned, hearkening back to burning of non-Qin history and philosophy books by Emperor Qin Shi Huang. In addition, vast numbers of Hans have been settled in these areas (echoing the situation in West Papua (Indonesia), and Palestine), where they get favourable treatment and priority in the receiving of economic benefits. This is the reality faced by these people, and is, I believe, the reason why people are opposing Chinese rule.

Let's not forget, the West had also co-opted the Tiananmen Square Protests, framing it as Western liberal movement fighting for Western-style 'democracy'. Instead, it was a push by students and workers against the drive towards capitalist reforms and for the democratization of both the economy and political system. Likewise, the media has attempted to frame the current struggle in Tibet as a push for Western-style 'democracy' with the DL as its figure head.

I support the current movement in Tibet for independence because

1) I do not realistically think it will revert back to a feudal state, we should have a historical perspective on this, much has changed since the 1930s and I don't think the workers will allow this to happen

2) Cultural and political imperialism has occurred in Tibet, and Tibetans have the right to self-determination

3) I see a greater likelihood for revolution occurring in an independent Tibet It'd be interesting to see what others think about this.
http://linchpin.ca

TIBET:

WHAT DOES "FREE TIBET" MEAN TO YOU:

The following is reprinted from Anarkismo.Net. It concerns our way of viewing what is happening in Tibet today, and how anarchists should view these events. Not that I agree with everything here concerned as to "emphasis", but I really think this is a valuable contribution for thought and debate.

Molly

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What Does "Free Tibet" Mean for You?

by Laure Akai

Friday, Mar 28 2008, 12:45pm

The struggle to be free is one that is commendable and deserves our sympathy. At this time when the state is committing brutal violence against a people, solidarity and action is needed and in fact, around the world well-wishers have expressed their outrage at the situation in Tibet. Protest movements have been calling for "an end to cultural imperalism", "freedom", even for "crushing the oppressor" and are united in such slogans and demands. Yet what if Tibet were to gain independence from China?

The question of national liberation is a complicated one. Discrimination, destruction of culture and community are forms of repression which are often seen in the contest of nation against nation instead of in the context of the ruling classes against the subjugated. Thus national liberation movements of all kinds tend to create the illusion of a mass common interest against an oppressor which is always external. "Self-determination" is too often a slogan which really means establishing the right of the elites of a given nation to exert power and influence, both economic and political, over those who would be subjects of a new nation state.

The struggle to be free is one that is commendable and deserves our sympathy. At this time when the state is committing brutal violence against a people, solidarity and action is needed and in fact, around the world well-wishers have expressed their outrage at the situation in Tibet. Protest movements have been calling for "an end to cultural imperialism", "freedom", even for "crushing the oppressor" and are united in such slogans and demands. Yet what if Tibet were to gain independence from China?

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The question of national liberation is a complicated one. Discrimination, destruction of culture and community are forms of repression which are often seen in the contest of nation against nation instead of in the context of the ruling classes against the subjugated. Thus national liberation movements of all kinds tend to create the illusion of a mass common interest against an oppressor which is always external. "Self-determination" is too often a slogan which really means establishing the right of the elites of a given nation to exert power and influence, both economic and political, over those who would be subjects of a new nation state.

*****
It is no coincidence that the "struggle to be free" is supported selectively. Individuals or larger groups of society may give precedence to one struggle over another for various reasons and in Europe and North America one can observe the existence of "causes célèbres" which are given both support by famous and powerful persons and disproportionate media attention (when compared to other analogous struggles). Causes célèbres are able to attract and mobilize people, gather ardent supporters for the cause. But not all social struggles or even human tragedy can qualify as a cause célèbre.

Causes célèbres are easily mobilized around those national liberation movements which are also (not coincidentally) related to establishing independence from the superstates created by so-called "communist nations". The brutal totalitarian nature of such states are joyously exposed with indignation by countries many of which even have equal atrocities on their account. Members of the American political establishment are quick to condemn human rights conditions in China and some even call for a boycott of the Olympics similar to that held in 1980, while Americans continue to kill civilians in wars for oil, support right-wing murderous paramilitaries, execute prisoners and financially support slave-like working conditions in factories around the world producing goods for American consumers. Few "concerned citizens of the world" were whipped into such a frenzy to demand a boycott of the Olympic Games in the US.

This is not to say that a reaction to the situation in Tibet is undue. Quite the contrary. However, I would like to pose a few questions for consideration.

The Tibetan situation is treated by many with, quite justifiably, a sense of urgency. In my city, at least three pickets have been held in the past week with large crowds in attendance and throughout the country, people mobilized instantly. We are being passionately implored to boycott the firm that is producing Olympic uniforms, to go to the Chinese embassy, to boycott Chinese goods and anybody who has been less than enthusiastic about this may be told they are supporting genocide. By comparison, many recent events have gone largely ignored in these parts, for example recent Turkish military actions against Kurds or, even more tragically, the ongoing and outrageous situation in Congo. How is it that over 5 million people have been killed in Congo over the last ten years and the great local activist masses have stayed passive, if not totally ignorant of the situation?

The answer is complex, and, unfortunately not very convenient. Tibetans can be easily portrayed as the ultimate victims. As some internet commenter argued, Tibetans are more deserving of our support (than Kurds) because they haven't been violent. I was asked "how many people have they killed" (in comparison to Kurds).

I don't think any historians are in a position to give an answer to this question. During the CIA-sponsored Tibetan resistance, surely tens of thousands of Chinese were killed, but supporters of the Tibet cause would argue that this was merely self-defense. Currently, some Tibetans have also taken part in random ethnic violence (in fact pogroms) which also tends to be justified by supporters of the cause as an appropriate reaction to Chinese settlement in Tibet. These types of episodes, if known at all, are easily juxtaposed by the dominant images of Buddhist monks, led by the Dalai Lama, as men of peace, a noble opposition to the violent and barbaric Chinese.

The creation of such images of peaceful, happy Tibetans is probably the result of a long-term PR campaign boosted by naive believers and well-wishers as well as government-sponsored propaganda. Few people care to know about the realities of the feudal system which existed in Tibet up until the second half of the twentieth century, nor do they wish to view "his holiness" the Dalai Lama as a human deity who lived in a huge palace, up kept and served by serf labour, a person whose prime interest was to maintain social servility and Tibetan elites. The social composition of Tibetan society played no role when the CIA supported the Tibetan resistance; its support was absent when it needed China as an ally and came when its political priority became "fighting the spread of communism".

The campaign to free Tibet which sprung up in the 1980s was largely kick started through help from the CIA and the National Endowment for Democracy. With such backing it had a good start to build grassroots movements and student groups which would later give it complete activist legitimacy. The Tibetans were a perfect subject that could be presented as the ideal victims: peace-loving, religious, wise, living in Shangri-La and viciously oppressed by the world's worst human rights abusers. Celebrity Buddhists and New-Agers helped segue this issue into the mainstream. Thus gaining its legitimacy through the mainstream media and having become a cause célèbre, thousands of people interested in peace and social justice around the world have taken up the cause. Some may envision the development of some sort of bourgeois civil society after Tibetan is free, while others maintain some idolized vision of spiritual Tibet and appear at pickets donning orange robes and carrying portraits of the Dalai Lama. And while this cause is picked up by the thousands, hundreds of equally urgent struggles remain unknown or are dismissed as the actors in these struggles fail to present themselves as the perfect victims. They may have been defined and portrayed to the world through the lens of the capitalist-dominated press or otherwise did not inspire enough empathy to mobilize support.

*****
The struggle for a "Free Tibet" may begin with a struggle against the Chinese police state - but it certainly does not end there. Self-determination is usually a code word for national determination, but real self-determination begins with self-management.

Can the movement in Tibet be transformed from a national liberation struggle into a social revolution? We have no evidence of such revolutionary tendencies although the information we receive tends to be filtered through the ideological lens of the liberal establishment. Recent experience has tended to show that people can throw off the yoke of a totalitarian communist state but, without experience in grassroots self-organization, and operating largely in a vacuum, such countries can develop into more-or-less democratic market economies run by economic elites, or they can develop into autocracies or rather undemocratic regimes such as one finds in parts of Central Asia.

The struggle for freedom in Tibet is thus not just a struggle against the Chinese state, but also a struggle against all the powers which would enslave the average Tibetan upon gaining nominal independence. The feudal order represented by the monks, the Dalai Lama and the children of the merchant class in exile cannot be allowed to take root again in that country.

One may be quick to point out that feudalism is not likely to be restored in Tibet but this does not mean that similar conditions cannot arise under different socio-economic regimes. Many workers find themselves in indentured servitude even in Western Europe, the US or the Gulf States where such an economic system does not technically exist. In factories throughout Asia, workers are treated as chattels, although their countries have achieved national independence. The chains of one ruling class were simply exchanged for those of another, the form of slavery merely modified.

"Free Tibet" cannot be reduced to religious freedom, freedom to associate in non-threatening civic organizations or other freedoms which are normally the rewards of democratic independence movements. Of course one cannot justify repression of such freedoms; even a critic of clericalism can condemn repression on the grounds of religious conviction and understand the impulse to fight against this. Yet all of these freedoms do not amount to a society where there is true popular control, where workers and communities cooperate to create social equity and where the financial and political elites are divested of their power, their means of exploiting and controlling people. This vision of "Free Tibet" is inspiring but, unfortunately one that is still lacking in the popular imagination.
Laure Akai
Article written for Anarkismo.net

TIBET PROTESTS ON THE INTERNET:

WIKILEAKS- BREAKING ALL CENSORSHIP:

The following is a reprint from the 'Notes of an Anarchist Physicist' e-list, run by George Salzman presently resident in Oaxaca Mexico. For instructions on how to subscribe to this list see the end of this article. This article gives connection to a valuable internet resource, the Wikileaks list, that aims to break through internet censorship to bring the actual news to people across the world. The Wikileaks people have prepared a digest of videos on what is actually happening in Tibet, and hope that this may serve to help break the Chinese government's attempts to censor the news.

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Breaking all censorship – the Wikileaks goal
I’m with them, one-hundred and ten percent

Oaxaca, Mexico, Tuesday 18 March 2008
Friends,
Absolute freedom of communication among all the world’s peoples is The Rock-Bottom Necessity we must achieve if we are to have any realistic hope of changing the savage dominant global society in which most of us are living into a humane world for all peoples. In this struggle the Wikileaks group is exemplary. Today I got from them an e-mail on censorship by the Chinese government. Following their e-mail are some personal, slightly critical comments.
___________________________________________

Subject: Wikileaks releases 35 censored videos of the Tibet protests


Wikileaks Press Release
Tue Mar 18 10:00:00 GMT 2008

Wikileaks has released 35 censored videos relating to the protests in Tibet and has called on bloggers around the world to help drive the footage through the so called 'Great Firewall of China'.

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/Censored_Tibet_March_2008_protest_videos_-_AVI_format

The transparency group's move comes as a response to the the Chinese Public Security Bureau's carte-blanche censorship of youtube, the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and other sites carrying video footage of the Tibetan people's recent heroic stand against the inhumane Chinese occupation of Tibet.

Wikileaks has also placed the collection in two easy to use archives together with a HTML index page so they may be easily copied, placed on websites, emailed across the internet as attachments and uploaded to peer to peer networks.

Censorship, like communism, seems like a reasonable enough idea to begin with. While "from each according to his ability and to each according to his need" sounds unarguable, the world has learned that these words call forth a power elite to administer them with coercive force. Such elites are quick to define the needs of their own members as paramount. Similarly "from each mouth according to its ability and to each ear according to its need" seems harmless enough, but history shows that censorship also requires an anointed class to define this 'need' and to make violence against those who continue talking. Such power is quickly corrupted.

The first ingredient of civil society is the people's right to know, because without such understanding no human being can meaningfully choose to support anything, let alone a political party. Knowledge is the driver of every political process, every constitution, every law and every regulation. The communication of knowledge is without salient analogue. It is living, unique and demands its rightful place at the summit of society. Since knowledge is the creator and
regulator of all law, its position beyond law commands due respect.

James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and other Enlightenment framers of the US Bill of Rights understood this well when they began the First Amendment's constitutional protections of speech and of the press with 'Congress shall make no law....'.

As knowledge flows across the world it is time to sum great freedoms of every nation and not subtract or divide them.
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The Wikileaks folks implied criticism of communism is flawed in its evident belief that the concept "from each according to his ability and to each according to his need" necessarily “call[s] forth a power elite to administer them with coercive force.” The Wikileaks statement is urging us to move in a very good and essential direction, freedom of communication unencumbered by any elite power structure. This is precisely what those who believe in anarchist-communism advocate and work towards. No nation-state has ever existed, so far as I know, that was communist, despite some states declaring themselves to be Communist (with a capital C!). We ought to recognize that anti-communism is an important component of the ideology of capitalism. That in and of itself doesn’t imply that it is bad, because there are parts of capitalist ideology that are good. But this is not one of them.
Sincerely,
George
All comments and criticisms are welcome. <george.salzman@umb.edu>

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