Self-Immolation of Tibetan Monks

How does Western Media Portray the

Chinese-Tibetan Conflict?

Overview

As an overall theme in the articles

that I looked at on this topic, there were two

major topics that came up in all of the

articles. One topic was the conflict between

Tibet and China and what side the article

was taking, and the second topic was are

these self-immolations religiously or

politically driven.

Tibet vs. ChinaPro-Tibet

This topic came up in very single one of the articles I looked at. For the most part, most of the articles sides with the Tibetans and their struggle against the Chinese. The articles siding with the Tibetans always eluded to the stricter rules and regulations regarding their religion. Most articles stated that the Tibetans that are doing the self-immolations are giving themselves a voice in a country where there voice is normally not heard.

Tibet vs. ChinaPro-China

There was one article that I came

across that seemed to be on China’s side in

this argument. They bashed the Tibetans

for just trying to get some pity from

westerners and trying to get publicity for

their people. The article said that they were

trying to get money from westerners so that

they could do something physically against

the Chinese government.

As seen in the picture, an

elderly women is hanging

a poster of monks that

have self-immolated

themselves along side a

sing that states, “TIBET is

not part of CHINA.”

This shows the severity of the

Chinese government’s actions.

Tibet wants nothing to do with

China.

Religion vs. Politics

In all the articles that I read, I couldn’t

find a clear argument on this topic. Almost all of

the articles said something along the lines of

that immolating one self is the best sacrifice one

can give, but then in another paragraph, they

would say something to the effect of, the

Tibetans want their religious and political

officials back from exile and they want their

rights back. No article made it clear as to

whether the reason behind these self-

immolations was religious or political.

Tibetan self-immolations

Dalai Lama

A couple of articles brought the Dalai Lama into the picture. The articles that referenced him used his views of the Chinese government to help the Tibetans. The Dalai Lama thinks the Chinese government is too strict and should let him back into his own country, but he knows that won’t happen unless there is a big change in the government. He sees the big change in the government coming within the next 20 years. The Dalai Lama has no hard feelings towards the Chinese government, he just wants all the violence to stop, but to do it in a peaceful manner.

Conclusion

In Western media, the conflict be Tibet and China has been widely covered by multiple sources, and these sources tend to side with Tibet and their struggle to free themselves from the persecution of the Chinese government. Western media does not know the reasoning behind the self-immolations, but they try to keep their interpretations pretty vague when it comes to eh question of why? Western media has helped bring this issue into the lives of everyday people and is giving good information in a variety of ways. Western media is helping this conflict by reporting what they know.

Sources

O http://www.metro.co.uk/news/897297-shocking-self-immolation-on-the-rise-in-tibet-for-desperate-protesters

O http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100154077/are-tibetans-burning-themselves-to-evoke-the-further-pity-of-their-western-sympathisers/

O http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/12/dalai-lama-chinese-poison-plot?newsfeed=true

Sources

O http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fb3db53b7445

c2f54000000/china-tv-blames-dalai-lama-for-tibet-

immolations

O http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/tibet-self-

immolation-wave_n_1396443.html

O http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/world/asia/in-self-

immolations-signs-of-new-turmoil-in-

tibet.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

O http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kyle-scott/adam-yauch-

tibet_b_1507607.html

O http://jamaica-

gleaner.com/gleaner/20120517/cleisure/cleisure3.html

O http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bianca-jagger/tibet-

matters_b_1514089.html