Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A688-W427
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A688-W427
Release
Date: Feb. 4, 2012
发布日：2012年2月4日
Topic:
The Recent Tibetan Self-immolations and Beyond -- Wei Jingsheng
标题：从近期的藏人自焚谈起 -- 魏京生
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The
Recent Tibetan Self-immolations and Beyond
--
Wei Jingsheng
Over
the past year, the tragic self-immolation of more than a dozen Tibetans finally
got the attention of the world.
Last month, there were a series of events where Chinese military police
opened fire and killed Tibetan protestors in Sichuan's Tibetan area. According to media reports, by Jan. 29,
2012, in the Luhuo and Seda counties, as well as Rangtang of the Ganzi
Autonomous Prefecture, at least 3 people were killed due to the crackdown by
the military police. The Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) accused the Tibetan protesters as conducting mob
activity. Yet, according to the
local Tibetans, the initial cause was because the authorities prevented the
Tibetans from praying for the self-immolated Tibetans.
The
Chinese Communist authorities blamed the Dalai Lama, claiming the
self-immolations were due to his instigation. The Dalai Lama said that the reason behind the
self-immolation protests was due to the Chinese Communist Party's policy of
repression and cultural genocide in Tibet. So, in the end, what is the cause that Tibetans who believe
Tibetan Buddhism find so unbearable, to the degree that they had to set fire to
themselves as a way to alert the oppressors and call for public attention?
In
fact, the situation of the Tibetans is only a microcosm of the human rights
situation under the Chinese Communist rule. For the more than 5 decades since the Communist army entered
Tibet and ruthlessly massacred millions of Tibetans, generation after
generation of Tibetans have risen to resist the suppression. This series of self-immolations is just
another wave of resistance over the years, and reflects the increasingly
difficult reality for the Tibetans.
Regardless how sincerely the Dalai Lama expresses his desire for a
"middle way" approach, the Chinese Communist Party has ignored any
such plea, and instead uses "ethnic separatism" to slander the
sincerity of the Dalai Lama.
As
a matter of fact, under the iron fist of the Chinese Communists the other
minorities suffered just as much.
The Uyghur in Xinjiang could not accept the systematic suppressive
policy of Beijing, which has resulted in endless conflicts. The July 5, 2009, riots in Urumqi are a
case in point. After that, near
the end of 2009, a number of Uyghur who experienced the riots fled to Cambodia
via Vietnam to seek political asylum from the United Nations. However, 20 of these asylum seekers
were repatriated from Cambodia.
Recently, the media revealed that two of them were sentenced to life imprisonment
by the Communist authorities.
According to unconfirmed sources, 4 of these 20 repatriated Uyghur may
have been sentenced to death.
So
what about the other ethnic groups?
Their situation was not much better. For example, over the years the exploitation of resources in
Inner Mongolia by the Communist regime has caused many protests by the
Mongolian people, even just recently.
At the time when the Communist regime opened fire on Tibetan protesters
in Luhuo County, the Central Political and Law Commission of the Communist
Party directed the local political and law system in Inner Mongolia to have
more stringent control over all factors of "instability", especially
the independence sentiment in Inner Mongolia.
Once,
the Chinese culture was proud to be one that was inclusive and absorb other
cultures. Through business along
the Silk Road and other land and sea routes, China was a country contributing
to world civilization and development.
Yet, why does it lag behind in modern times? Why are these ethnic minorities demanding independence? Without a doubt, the CCP's brutal
oppression is the primary reason.
CCP's oppression is not just political, but also over other aspects
include economical, cultural, religious, etc. This oppression is the primary reason for the ethnic
minorities' demand for independence.
But
I must point out that the exploitation and oppression by the Chinese Communists
is not only directed against minorities, but also against the majority of the
Han Chinese. The CCP not only
suppresses the demands for independence by the ethnic minority, but also
brutally suppresses and persecutes those Chinese political dissidents who call
for democracy and freedom. The
recent series of heavy sentences handed down to the dissidents is a proof. Right around the 2012 New Year, in less
than one month several dissidents received long sentences for their speeches
and articles. On December 23,
2011, Chen Wei of Sichuan was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for
"inciting subversion of state power"; three days later on December
26, Chen Xi of Guizhou was sentenced to 10 years on similar charges; then on
January 18, 2012, Li Tie of Wuhan was also sentenced to 10 years.
Nevertheless,
just as described by the old Chinese saying, the CCP, which has lost its ruling
credit, has been behaving like that "Qian donkey that ran out of all its
tricks". Its style of
suppression in the way of "killing the chickens to warn the monkeys"
has become less and less effective as well. An example is the continuing rights defending movement in
China that has been growing even to the degree of people using force against
violent suppression by the government.
These events have also woken up and trained many grass-roots leaders,
and enabled these leaders to lead the masses in a rational, powerful, and
beneficial struggle with the Chinese Communist government.
The
recent Wukan event is a typical example. First, the leadership in Wukan town
and the county and municipal government imposed a suppressive policy against
the Wukan villagers, which led to a mass uprising against the suppression. Then the government claimed that bad
guys were stirring up trouble - it arrested the villagers' leaders, and had one
killed. Finally the Guangdong
Provincial Government had to bow down to the protests and temporary met the
demand of the Wukan people. This
case itself has illustrated that just begging the CCP officials who are only
interested of their own profit will not be useful, and it is impossible for the
officials to find their own good heart conscience voluntarily. When their rightful requests are
unreasonably refused and even brutally repressed, the people have the power and
ability to rise up. This action is
the most effective way to deal with a rogue government.
These
days, the CCP is ostentatious with its money and believes that money
talks. We can see it from a series
of international operations by the CCP.
After those Uyghur were repatriated, the international community
condemned the Government of Cambodia.
However, shortly thereafter, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visited
Cambodia, and signed more than 800 million U.S. dollars worth of trade
contracts. As the Western society
has become plagued by the current economic crisis, money politics has also led
many Western politicians to practice a double standard on human rights and
democracy issues. This double
standard shows in their recent hesitation and swings during the political
turmoil in North Africa. Within
this international environment, those Tibetans who pay a huge personal price
with self-immolation as a protest may not be able to change the CCP policy in
Tibet. Instead it could become
more insatiable and more arrogant.
As the West does not have enough desire and interest to push for freedom
and democracy in the areas under Chinese rule, all ethnic groups must be
self-reliant and work with mutual cooperation -- we need to understand that
only under the premise of the end of the Chinese Communist one-party
dictatorship will we be likely to win other appeals.
To
hear Mr. Wei Jingsheng's related commentary, please visit:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2012/WeiJS120203onTibetanSelfImmolation.mp3
(Written
and recorded on February 3, 2012.
Broadcasted by Radio Free Asia.)
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中文版
Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A688-W427
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号： A688-W427
Release
Date: Feb. 4, 2012
发布日：2012年2月4日
Topic:
The Recent Tibetan Self-immolations and Beyond -- Wei Jingsheng
标题：从近期的藏人自焚谈起 -- 魏京生
Original
Language Version: Chinese (Chinese version at the end)
此号以中文为准（英文在前，中文在后）
如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2012/report2012-02/WeiJSonTibetanSelfImmolation120204A688-W427.htm
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从近期的藏人自焚谈起
-- 魏京生
近一年来，十多个藏人惨烈的自焚事件终于得到了世界的关注。上个月，四川藏区又发生了一系列中共军警射杀抗议藏人的事件。据媒体报道，发生在甘孜自治州炉霍、色达两县以及壌塘県截至1月29日由于武警的镇压，至少3人死亡。中共指责抗议的藏民为暴徒。而据当地藏民说，起因是因为当局阻止藏民祷念自焚的藏民引起的。
中国当局把自焚事件归咎于达赖喇嘛，说那些抗议者是在他的煽动下自焚的。而达赖喇嘛则表示，自焚抗议背后的原因是中共对西藏的压制和文化灭绝政策。那么，到底是什么逼迫信仰藏传佛教的藏人到了忍无可忍，不得不以自焚来警醒压迫者、呼唤大众的地步呢？
其实，藏人的处境只是目前中共统治下人权状况的一个缩影。自中共军队入藏、无辜屠杀数百万藏人的五十多年来，中共的无情镇压迫使一代又一代的藏人奋起反抗。这一系列的自焚事件只是多年来反抗的又一波，也反映了藏人处境更日益艰难的现实。无论达赖喇嘛多么真诚地表示他要走“中间道路”的愿望，中共都置之不理，反而以“民族分裂”的借口来诬蔑达赖喇嘛的诚意。
其实，在中共铁拳之下的其它少数民族的遭遇，也不比藏人好到那里。在新疆的维吾尔人无法接受北京在当地推行的系统性的镇压政策，因此冲突不断。2009年乌鲁木齐的7.5骚乱事件就是一个例证。之后，在2009年的年底，多名经历了7.5骚乱的维吾尔人经越南逃往柬埔寨要求联合国政治庇护。但20名向联合国寻求政治庇护的维吾尔人却被从柬埔寨遣返回中国。近日，有媒体曝光，其中二人被中共当局判处无期徒刑。而未经证实的消息透露，20名被遣返的维吾尔人中有4人可能被判处了死刑。
那么其它少数民族呢？他们的境况也好不到哪里去。以内蒙古为例，多年来，中共对内蒙古资源的剥夺，已引起近期蒙古族人的多次抗议。而在中共向炉霍县的藏人抗议者开枪的同时，据报道，中央政法委要求内蒙古的政法系统更加严控所有不稳定的因素，尤其是内蒙古的独立情绪。
中华文化曾经以包容和吸收其它的文化而自豪。通过丝绸之路和其它的海陆商道，中国曾是一个对世界文明和发展有过贡献的国度。为什么到了近代反而落后了呢？为什么这些少数民族都纷纷要求独立呢？毫无疑义，中共的残酷压迫是首要的原因。中共的压迫不仅仅是政治上的，也是经济上、文化上、宗教上等各方面的。这才是各少数民族人民要求独立的首要原因。
但我必须指出的是，中共的剥削和压迫针对的不仅仅是各个少数民族，也包括广大汉族民众。中共不仅仅压制少数民族要求独立的呼声，也同样残酷地打压和迫害那些要求民主和自由的汉族政治异议者们。最近一系列对大陆异议人士的重判就是明证。元旦前后不到一个月，接连数名异议人士因言获罪，被判以长期徒刑：2011年12月23日，四川陈卫因「煽动颠覆国家政权罪」被判入狱九年；之后三天的12月26日，贵州陈西被当局以同样罪名判刑十年；2012年1月18日，武汉的李铁也被判10年。
然而，失去了执政威信的中共已是黔驴计穷，这种杀鸡给猴子看的方式也越来越没有效了。近来，不断发生的此起彼伏、愈演愈烈的民众维权乃至以暴抗暴事件就是例证。在这些事件中，也唤醒、培养和锻炼了许多草根型的群众领袖，他们在实践中带领群众与中共进行有理、有力、有利的斗争。
最近发生的乌坎事件就是这样一个典例：先是从乌坎镇到县及市政府，对乌坎村民实行高压政策，进而导致群众以暴抗暴；之后政府以坏人挑动闹事为由抓捕村民领袖并闹出人命；到最后广东省政府不得不低头，暂时满足乌坎老百姓的要求。这个案例本身就说明光是乞求那些有自身利益于其中的中共官员发善心是不可能也没有用的，在合理要求被无理拒绝甚至残酷镇压的情况下，老百姓有以暴抗暴的权力和能力，这也是对待一个无赖政府的最有效的方法。
如今的中共财大气粗，自以为有钱能使鬼推磨，有钱就能摆平一切。这从它一系列国际运作上就能看得出来。在那些维吾尔人被遣返回去后，柬埔寨政府受到了国际社会的谴责。但随后不久，中共国家副主席习近平就访问了柬埔寨，并签署了价值8亿多美元的经贸合同。而西方社会为目前的经济危机所困扰，其金钱政治也导致许多西方政治家在人权纪录和民主问题上实行双重标准。这在他们近期在北非的政治动荡中左右摇摆，前后不一上就有充分的表现。在这种国际环境下，那些自焚的藏人付出巨大生命代价的抗议，并不足以改变中共在藏区的政策，反而倒可能使得它得寸进尺，更为嚣张。在西方没有足够的愿望和利益对中共统治下地区的自由和民主状况作足够推动的情况下，各族老百姓必须自力更生并相互联合-我们需要明白，只有在结束中共一党专制的前提下，才有可能赢得其它的诉求。
聆听魏京生先生的相关录音，请访问：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/RFA/RFA2012/WeiJS120203onTibetanSelfImmolation.mp3
（撰写并录音于2012年2月3日。自由亚洲电台播出。）
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