WELCOME CHINA TO THE WORLD OF PANTAU

I logged in to my Statcounter to discover that today Mainland China is able not only to visit my main website, but also my Blogger weblogs. Just seeing the world map with a little dot located in Beijing made my heart feel warmer. Finally, a Mainland Chinese has been checking out my writings. The only thing I hope is that it wasn’t one of those Chinese Internet Security Police trying to find out whether I write bad about their country.

Last year, when I visited Mainland China with my Chinese partner, I was shocked to realise that the Chinese authorities considered me a threat to their national security. My name appeared on their blacklist and they only allowed me to enter the country because I was being accompanied by my Chinese partner. However, soon things turned ugly for both of us when we were summoned to the main police station of Shenzhen to be fingerprinted and forced to make pro China statements. No surprise we left China shortly after being released and were happy to arrive back home in Bangkok.

In June the Dalai Lama is expected to visit the Netherlands. The Chinese Ambassador in The Hague put pressure on the Dutch government and threatened them with sanctions if they would issue a visa to His Holiness. I really don’t understand why the Chinese authorities consider threatening governments with sanctions as effective. The Dalai Lama doesn’t speak of politics, he just gives teachings on Buddhism. He’s not the head of the Tibetan Government in Exile. In his own words, he’s just a simple monk. A monk who has dedicated his life to help people around the world to find a way to happiness. He doesn’t hate China, he doesn’t even desire Tibet to be completely independent from China. He just desires human and equal rights for both Chinese and Tibetans.

Some governments have relented and decided to refuse the Dalai Lama entry to their countries. This is a very sad development. I pray that Beijing will change their policy and start working together with the Tibetan people as well as world leaders, rather than threatening them.

China is facing a major crisis. Tens of millions of Chinese migrant workers are being laid off and they face harsh times after returning to their villages. Even people who were factory directors now need to plow little plots of land and grow rice in the middle of nowhere, something they have never done before. People who were able to drive cars, now need to learn how to ride donkeys. Once thriving Chinese cities are now in a decline.

The financial crisis that hits practically every country in the world appears to hit twice as hard in China. So my prayers today are for my Chinese brothers and sisters.

The Tibetan flag