Aussie PM: Clear human rights abuses are being committed in Tibet
Mikey 2 comments
I'm happy to report that our new PM here in Australia isn't a conforming push-over like our previous PM. In Washington Kevin Rudd said it was clear human rights abuses were being committed in Tibet. Today he repeated those words at a university in Beijing. John Howard would have trimmed his eyebrows before opposing an international delagate. Tibetan Regional Government chairman Xiangba Puncog said:
"Australia, or other countries, should have better appreciation and understanding of the fact that people in Tibet are now enjoying democracy and have wonderful human rights protection, and those remarks are totally unfounded"
Ah yes, the Tibetans are clearly enjoying democracy and wonderful human rights.
Jake
Thursday 10th April 2008 | 06:23 AMThe owner of my local caffe, where I treat myself to a latte (yes I frickin drink lattes get over it) every morning after my run, just about kicked me out this morning when I asked her opinion of what Rudd had said (which was on the front page of the news paper).
She said that she believed that Tibet deserve all they got for not submitting to China. Then she went into that typically Chinese (sorry for the racist generalisation) rhetoric where she tried to convince me that as an Australian I was so lucky and had no idea of what it was like in China, nor the chaos that is created by Tibet.
I think after several trips to the country in recent years, I have at least some idea, and while I can appreciate that the media will only portray what is deemed to be inflamatory and sensational, the claims about human rights abuses in Tibet and right accross China are not new.
In saying that, while I appreciate that Rudd is likely to raise the issue of human rights with Beijing, it is not as if he will say, "fix it or no trade". He won't be taking a hard line stance, he'll just be saying, "I think it's bad, and think you should stop, please pass the steak sauce".
/\/\@ximus
Wednesday 9th April 2008 | 07:34 PMBut will it be enuff to boycott? Doubt it.