Letter

Dear President Obama,



I have been researching the Tibet and China controversy for a few months. After closely studying each sides viewpoints, I have decided that China is wrong for not letting Tibet become independent. Tibet is a very unique region that deserves to become independent. They are very unique because of their religion, and where they live. They isolate themselves high in the Apalesian Mountains. This peacefull region has tried to become independent in many ways. After many failed plans, they are now violently protesting. Violence may not be the best answer, in this case, but it is moving them farther than other attempts have in the past. After so many years of fighting with China, Tibet deserves to have their independence.
China has held on to Tibet for too long. It is not right, and we need to do something about it. Anything we do, can help Tibet. For example, if we advertise for a free Tibet, more people will want to help. Giving Tibet our support is an easy way to make a difference. Tibet needs help, and we need to help them.


Sincerely,

Paul Stover

Statistics

Finding a graph or chart on the Tibet and China controversy was very hard. Finally, after some time, I came across some statistics about the population of Tibet. The information was pretty bland, but I was happy to find something. According to Peter Kauffner in the article “How Many Ethnic Chinese Live in Tibet?” more and more ethnic chinese are choosing to live in Tibet. The population of Tibet in 1990 was 2.2 million. Of that 2.2 million, there were “ 66,000 ethnic Chinese with permanent residence status. Not included are another 40,000 Chinese entrepreneurs who are part of an unofficial "floating population" and between 40,000 and 65,000 soldiers and paramilitary police, putting the total Chinese population in Tibet at no more than 8 percent.” (Peter Kauffner) This is a very small percent. However, in 1995 the number increased immensely. The statistics show that “250,000 and 300,000, not including small groups of peoples indigenous to the region” (Peter Kauffner) were living in Tibet.
As you can see, the numbers of ethnic chinese living in Tibet are small for now, but they are increasing fast. This means that Tibet is slowly becoming less and less isolated from China. This population transfer is not a good thing for Tibet becoming independent. The more isolated they can be, the better. I would like to believe that this is a reliable source, however, a few parts of the article were very confusing telling me that this source was not professionally written. All in all, this weeks blog was quite challenging and bland.

Article Summary

While searching through nytimes.com, I came across a recently posted article on Tibetan riots. I chose this article because it is about Tibetan Riots, which is a subject I have not yet researched. According to the article, there was an exceptionally large riot in March resulting in the deaths of “18 civilians and one police officer, while 382 civilians and 241 police officers were injured,” reported Xinhua. Xinhua also reported that “rioters also burned 120 houses and 84 vehicles and looted 1,367 shops” which caused a 47 million dollar economic loss. China angrily blames the Dalai Lama of organizing the riot. As time goes on, the riots will keep getting worse and worse. Both Tibet and China still remain stubborn, as each side refuses to give up. As the violence increases, more Tibetans being sentenced and convicted. “As of April 29, 30 people have been convicted of arson, robbery, disrupting public order and attacking government offices, among other crimes related to the riot, which has the worst outburst of ethnic violence in China in recent years.” (Edward Wong) As you can see, Tibet is starting to become violent because they are tired of waiting.
This article was very interesting. It was great, because it provided many facts, and contained many details. The article was very easy to find and source. The New York Times web site is very easy and informational. I liked the subject a lot because it was very different and off the main flow of most research. The article did a great job of giving both view points on the subject. All in all, the article was very informational.