JUST UPSTREAM FROM LHASA……… The disastrous waste of 83 human lives at China’s copper and gold mine in Tibet, at Gyama, is a reminder of China’s plans for intensive extraction of Tibetan wealth, for China’s lowland factories. So big was the landslide down the steep terrain of Gyama, the 83 mine workers may never be […]
Naming the key environmental issues in Tibet: a reflective blog on categories we use. What would you say are the key environmental issues in Tibet? Many say rivers: Chinese dams threatening huge populations downstream. Many would say railways that cut the earth, cause erosion and interfere with the annual migrations of wildlife. Many would say […]
SACRED SITES, WILDLIFE & BIODIVERSITY Blogpost 3 of 3 PRESENTATION TO TIBETAN YOUTH WORKSHOP ORGANISED BY TIBET INFORMATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 2013 Each of the seven key challenges facing Tibet is a major problem, but solutions are possible. While the ultimate solution would be to restore actual autonomy, agency, and permission for Tibetans to form […]
CLIMATE CHANGE, MINING, POVERTY & INEQUALITY PRESENTATION TO TIBETAN YOUTH WORKSHOP ORGANISED BY TIBET INFORMATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 2013 blog #2 of 3 Each of the seven key challenges facing Tibet is a major problem, but solutions are possible. These ideas were discussed by a new generation of Tibetan Australians gathered at a Tibetan retreat […]
EXCLUDING NOMADS, DAMMING RIVERS PRESENTATION TO TIBETAN YOUTH WORKSHOP ORGANISED BY TIBET INFORMATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 2013 blogpost 1 of 3 Each of the seven key challenges facing Tibet is a major problem, but solutions are possible. These issues and the ongoing self-immolations in Tibet are not separate. The underlying causes of the protest burnings […]
#1 in a series of three blogs on self-immolation and the roots of the blindness of China’s central leaders Three existential questions gnaw at Tibetans and their friends worldwide. Why do so many Tibetans carefully and premeditatedly flame themselves publicly to death? Why does the world barely notice this unending chain of protest suicides? […]
#2 in a series of three blogs on self-immolation and the roots of the blindness of China’s central leaders The Tibetans are up against much more than the vestiges of Chinese communism. Modernity makes itself by its opposition to tradition, especially active, effective, transformative, traditions of enchantment. To be modern is to be disenchanted, to […]
#3 in a series of three blogs on self-immolation and the roots of the blindness of China’s central leaders The Buddhists of Tibet are used to being misunderstood. Even people who think of themselves as Buddhist often misunderstand Buddhism. Lamas these days write provocative books challenging their students to go beyond using Buddhism […]
China’s behemoth global investment strategy #18 in a series on THE FUTURE OF TIBET Chinese, for all its subtlety, can be a blunt language. Two key terms, to “go out” and to “come out” reveal a simple desire for more. The directness of these keywords tells us much about what China wants, and how […]
State Capitalism is supposed to fade away, but it keeps on growing #17 in a series on THE FUTURE OF TIBET The state-owned enterprises (SOEs) which own the key mineral deposits of Tibet, such as Zijin and Western Mining, are not yet familiar names outside China, but soon they will be. That’s the plan. This […]