President Obama's visit to China has once again invoked the debate on Tibet: did the Chinese government "liberate" the Tibetan "slaves" as Lincoln did in the Civil War or was it more akin to the early settlers driving the native Americans to near extinction? To this question, there are no real answers, only popular opinions. Perhaps we should refocus on the crux of the matter: what's Dalai Lama's position in all this?
DALAI LAMA'S DILEMMA
A vast territory with a meager population,
home to a unique brand of Buddhist religion.
A history of carefully bartered sovereignty
with an endless parade of peace treaties.
British imperialist and Russian communist,
American CIA and Nepalese opportunist,
all had a hand in this "roof of the world" Tibet
where holy reincarnation is a "scientific" fact.
"Intertwined with China for several dynasties -
Yes, we are part of China ... but we're not Chinese!
You hailed the Qinghai-Tibet Rail an engineering marvel -
To us, it's the last straw on the back of the camel!
We don't want independence, at least not yet,
meanwhile we can use all the help we can get.
So we'd welcome all your government subsidies,
but please don't send us any more Han Chinese!
We demand cultural and religious freedom
while maintaining our beloved feudal kingdom.
What the Chinese are doing we deemed cultural genocide,
but we'd welcome Starbucks and other foreign enterprise!
We want all the goodies germane to modern democracy
and continue to rule with oppressive arcane theocracy.
Simply put, my friends, if I may tell you the truth:
We just wanted to have our cake and eat it too!"
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