It’s official, the Chinese government wants you to laugh at them:

But a government policy document and the People’s Daily, the paper of the China’s ruling Communist Party, both said contention over the remote mountain region was stoked by Western governments and groups seeking to contain the country’s rise.

“It is thus clear that the so-called ‘Tibet issue’ is by no means an ethnic, religious and human rights issue; rather, it is the Western anti-China forces attempt to restrain, split and demonize China,” said a policy “white paper” issued by the State Council Information Office, a publicity arm of the government.

Such white papers are used to sum up official thinking on issues.

This is just rich. Official Chinese government policy is to blame their massive internal problems on Westerners. It’s hard to believe that this is really meant for anything other than ginning up internal nationalistic xenophobia to bolster the ruling Communist Party. Either they’re promoting this sort of vitriolic hate out of self-interest or out of delusion. Neither prospect is encouraging for the ability for China to be a respected peer in the global community.

Lhadon Tethong, executive director of Students for a Free Tibet, has a must-read post up on Tibet Will Be Free about the similarities between this year’s protests inside Tibet and last year’s national uprising.

News from Tibet says that there are protests here and there. All of us on the outside are scrambling to find out the details. We call Dharamsala, New York, London, Beijing, trying to work out what exactly happened. Once we piece together the story we take it to the world.

Again there are so few images. And so far, no moving images. No video. Nothing to show on TV.

But it is happening and everyone knows. We know. 6 million Tibetans and hundreds of thousands of Chinese police, soldiers and officials know.

Just like last year, and the year before that, and fifty years before that, there is a heroic battle raging at the highest point of the earth. It is a test of wills between a people with nothing but faith and a State without a soul.

I know the people will win. They always do when they have this kind of feeling.

As if to prove her point, today we find out that monks in Sey monastery have held a mass demonstration calling for greater rights and freedom.

There is an imperative in the search for freedom. On a long enough time scale, the life expectancy of every dictatorship, every unjust occupation, drops to zero. The Chinese Communist Party has ruled Tibet with an iron fist for what is about the outside edge of most modern dictatorial occupations – over half a century. In this time, they have not come close to extinguishing the Tibetan fire for freedom.

I spent a good amount of time while I was growing up going to school in Ireland. As a result, I also spent a good amount of time learning about the history of England’s occupation of Ireland and the eventual creation of a free republic in twenty-six of Ireland’s thirty-two counties. One of the most important events in the march towards independence for Ireland was the 1916 Easter Uprising, a failed attempt by Irish Republicans to cast off English rule through a poorly executed national violent uprising. Though poor communications, informants, and not enough popular support doomed the Easter Uprising to failure, it played a critical role nonetheless. The English government enacted a harsh crackdown on the Irish Republican Brotherhood, sending over 3,500 people to jail. They executed fifteen of the rebellions leaders, though some had little to nothing to do with it. These harsh actions did more to galvanize public support for Republicanism than the uprising itself.  England created martyrs for Ireland and their response hastened the end of their occupation in Ireland.

Last year’s national uprising was undoubtedly an expression of Tibetan’s unwavering desire to be free, a desire shared by all people. The sentiment was felt across Tibet, in all areas and amongst all sorts of people – monks and nuns, nomads and herders, city dwellers and business owners. Last year’s uprising happened because Tibetans want to be free.

But this year there is an added factor, something we see in many of the quotes coming out to the press. China killed thousands of Tibetans in last year’s crackdown on uprising, according to Tibetans inside Tibet. Thousands more have been disappeared and even more languish in jail. Tim Johnson of McClatchy News quoted one Tibetan herder saying: ““After I die, my sons and grandsons will remember. They will hate the government.” This is what China has wrought with their iron-fisted rule.

China’s crackdown on Tibetans, their use of massive shows of military and police force, surveillance cameras, travel restrictions, harsh prison sentences for thought crimes, and violence in response to peaceful protest had added fuel to the fire inside Tibet. Tibetans still know they deserve rights and freedom and they are speaking out for it. But China’s actions have only created a greater imperative for freedom in the minds of Tibetans inside Tibet. They are saying so in their few interviews with western reporters or contacts in the outside world. But more importantly, they are doing so with their continued acts of fearless protest, for they know the consequences for the words they say, the songs and prayers they chant, the pictures they hold, and the banned flag they wave.

Like Lhadon, I agree that the people will win. I hope that Tibetan’s inside Tibet know this too. And as we saw with the tight lockdown of the latest media junket to Tibet, China seems to know it as well and are reacting in the only way that most assures Tibetans will continue their drive towards freedom. It is happening and everyone knows.

Lhadon and Tendor talk about the self-immolation and shooting of a young Tibetan monk, Tape.

I’m also now hearing reports that when Tape was shot, he was shouting “Long live the Dalai Lama!” He was carrying a homemade Tibet flag with an image of the Dalai Lama on it — both of those symbols are banned by China.

Students for a Free Tibet just put out this release on the shooting of a monk who had self-immolated in protest in Tibet.

Hong Kong – A Tibetan monk was shot by Chinese police today after he set himself on fire at 1:40pm Beijing Time in Ngaba town (Chinese: Aba) in eastern Tibet. According to eyewitnesses, Tape, a monk in his 20’s from Kirti monastery, was shouting slogans and carrying a homemade Tibetan flag with an image of the Dalai Lama on it when he set himself on fire at the crossroads of the main market. Eyewitness reports indicate the police fired three shots at Tape after he set himself on fire. At least one of the bullets made contact. His body was removed almost immediately and it is unclear whether he survived the incident.

“That a young monk felt compelled to self-immolate in protest shows that China’s repression in Tibet is driving Tibetans to the brink,” said Lhadon Tethong, Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet. “This desperate action is a reflection of the intense frustration and pain that all Tibetans are feeling after nearly a year of being mercilessly targeted and oppressed by the Chinese authorities, and after having endured 50 years of subjugation at the hands of the Chinese government.”

Reports from Kirti monastery indicate that Tape’s protest came shortly after 1,000 monks, including Tape, were stopped from entering the monastery’s main prayer hall to engage in prayers for the 3rd day of Losar, the Tibetan New Year. After being blocked from entering the hall, the monks sat down outside and were preparing to go ahead with their prayers when older monks pleaded with them to disperse. The monks complied and went back to their rooms. Shortly afterwards, Tape came out of the monastery and once on the street he took out the flag and began walking towards the main market just a few minutes away.

Dozens of Tibetans from Ngaba and the surrounding area were killed last year, and many more disappeared and were imprisoned, when protests swept across Tibet. Graphic photos of Tibetans shot and killed by Chinese forces in Ngaba were some of the only images of the fatalities in the protests that reached the outside world. Following the protests, the monks of Kirti monastery were the targets of some of the most extreme torture, abuse and intimidation by Chinese authorities. The entire region has been under lockdown for the past year and in recent months foreigners have been blocked from entering Ngaba.

Also, Tibet Will Be Free has posted a series of photos released by Radio Free Asia of hundreds of monks from Lutsang Monastery holding a candlelight vigil in Mangra County, Tibet. Kate at TWBF points out: “Lutsang Monastery is located in Mangra Country, a few hours from Rebong. Monks from this same monastery also took part in a protest last year on March 10, 2008.”

Update:

The Guardian has a story on the immolation/shooting of the Tibetan monk Tabe, with added reports from Free Tibet Campaign.

NPR:

During visits to four monasteries, pictures of the Dalai Lama were openly displayed, a symbol of resistance to Chinese rule. The heightened security, including police presence and increased troop deployments in Tibetan areas, means protests are less likely this year. For one monk, “Cerdan,” whose real name was withheld to protect his identity, openly showing the Dalai Lama’s picture has become a test of will.

“Even if there are problems, we’ll display his picture. Even if they kill us, we’ll display it,” he said.