Opinions

WHILE leaving the United States after a five-day tour, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping stated that his visit was a ‘full success’. After the official calls on the US President and other dignitaries, the visit ended in a relaxed way in Hollywood. Further, Xi termed his meetings with President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden as ‘fruitful’.

“What is the sound of one hand clapping?” This Zen Buddhist koan is sometimes cited by those who follow the ups and downs – mostly downs – of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue.

Declassified documents from 1950 through the 1960s show that Canada considered Tibet to be “qualified for recognition as an independent state.” These documents also show how the Canadian government’s concern over the outcome of United Nations votes led Canada to publicly avoid the question of Tibet’s political status in favor of human rights. But while Canada

I do not know if you are like me, but I find it extremely distressing to see how commonly the adjective “desperate” has been used by the media and Tibetans in exile to describe the self-immolation protests that have taken place in Tibet since 2009 — seventeen cases so far as I write this.

The Mayan prophecy that the world will end in 2012 has spawned hundreds of books, films, plays and satires. Although the public fascination with apocalyptic stories does not necessarily translate into real belief, I admit to secretly subscribing to an alternative vision of a 2012 apocalypse

The pressing question on every one’s mind when it concerns the fate of Tibetan struggle is this. Will the perfect unity, as symbolized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s leadership, will survive post his political retirement? Will the political successor, Kalon Tripa Dr. Lobsang Sangay, be able to fill in the (political) shoes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama?

I absolutely respect the Tibetan self-immolators. Whether they had clear visions, their intentions being achievable and realistic or not, their collective actions have inspired the courage of a nation.

Proponents of the Middle Way policy have recently been placing increased hope on Chinese law. Exhibit A in this argument is Article 31 of the Chinese Constitution, which allows for the creation of Special Administrative Regions such as Hong Kong. The claim is that Chinese law already provides for the type of autonomy that Tibetans demand, and what’s missing is only political will from China to implement its own law.

The Yiddish word “chutzpah”, pronounced “huspa”, has the exact same meaning as the Tibetan word “hamba”, and even shares a passing tonal quality to it. Leo Rosten, the humorist, defined chutzpah as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”

In the video, she stands still in a street as a car goes by. Then, like the wick of an offering lamp, her body is hardly distinguishable from the fire burning up from her. The only thing clearly visible under the burning bonfire is her unmoving feet and the end of her robe.