The Washington Post reports that Tibet is still not free and Tibetans still live under the crushing weight of China’s ongoing military occupation:

Chinese authorities carrying out a “strike hard” campaign in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa have raided thousands of homes and businesses, run checks on 5,766 suspects and detained at least 81 people, including two for having reactionary music on their cellphones, according to official reports and news accounts.

The Lhasa Evening News adds that two of the people detained “had reactionary opinions.” Not only is some music banned in Tibet, some opinions are illegal.

It’s pretty hard to overstate how brutal China’s rule in Tibet is. The ubiquitous police and military presence isn’t merely aimed at maintaining physical control of the population. Rather it is a tool to break the spirit of Tibetans, to silence dissent and even thoughts and songs that scare the ruling Chinese government.

The continued silence by the global community is truly disheartening. I hope the Obama administration and the State Department under Hillary Clinton seriously evaluate how the US can shift our policy towards China regarding Tibet. I think there are a few substantive steps that could be made and I would hope to see including:

• At least double the size of the State Department staff dedicated to Tibet;
• Have President Obama host the Dalai Lama on a state visit, including a meeting in the Oval Office;
• Include demands for the release of all Tibetan political prisoners on Secretary of State Clinton’s first visit to China or the first visit by a Chinese head of state to the US, whichever comes first;
• Demand immediate information about the whereabouts of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama;
•  Set strict policies for the conditions in which American companies – including mining, internet technology, security/surveillance, tourism, and rail – can do business with China inside of Tibet; and
• if and when the Tibetan Government in Exile shifts their demands from autonomy to independence, as is a distinct possibility in the next four years, have President Obama offer to host the first round of meaningful, substantive negotiations on the path towards Tibetan independence.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but each step would facilitate a march towards freedom for Tibet. China must pay a price for their ongoing occupation of Tibet – be it socially, economically, or politically. These steps make it harder for China to continue their illegal occupation and thus bring Tibetans closer to their birthright.