Tibetan Splendor

Does a natural groundswell of popular support for a free Tibet really exist, outside Tibet? Or what about even inside Tibet? To be honest, given a choice between being ruled by Tibetan monks or the Chinese Communists, I'm not really sure who I'd pick. If I have this right (I may be mistaken) administration by Lama was, essentially, a feudal enterprise. I wouldn't be surprised, indeed, if several people I know are reincarnated Tibetans who wanted to get out of Tibet and the Lama bureaucracy. (Just kidding.) And I'm quite prepared to believe that the Chinese discriminate against Tibetans, etc, etc. But there is a history here: Tibet is traditionally part of China.

What worries me is that by insulting the Chinese over Tibet (western leaders, for example, declaring that they won't attend the Olympic's opening ceremony; Gordon Brown only attending the closing ceremony when, oh yes, the torch is handed off to England) we cause the Chinese to lose face. For what? Besides which, we might seriously annoy them — remember, politics is not always a logical exercise. Specifically, it's in the Chinese government's interest to keep accepting dollars (long story short, access to the U.S. market equals super fast growth and that growth equals political stability), at least for now. But what if they decide to do something not in their interest just to make themselves feel better? If China were to in any way slow its acquisition of dollars that would spell economic doom for the U.S. Even for the soft-hearted, something to consider.

Voilà realpolitik (to mix linguistic references), but even on principled grounds I'm skeptical about the case for a "free Tibet". Dilbert aside, I'd cut the Chinese a bit of slack. And if it were me, I'd be very comfortable going to the games.