by Tashabay

Created on: August 25, 2008

Dressed in an orange and red robe, a bald man with glasses
who refers to himself as the Dalai Lama actively seeks
worldwide support from politicians to alleviate the cultural
genocide China imposes on Tibet. The San Francisco Chronicle
had mention that His Holiness recently made a trip to France
this past week, to meet with first lady Carla Bruni-
Sarkozy, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Human rights

Minister Rama Yade to inaugurate a Buddhist temple in the
south of France and to discuss spiritual matters and the
repression of China- such as military occupation the Tibet
region- in hopes to gain further concern for Tibet.

His Holiness also met with Republican presidential
candidate, Sen. John McCain, in Aspen, Colorado, July 25
2008. McCain said, "it does no service to the Chinese
government, and certainly no service to the people of China,
for the United States and other democracies to pretend that
the suppression of rights in China does not concern us. It
does, will and must concern us."
Although the Dalai Lama did not endorse McCain, His
Holiness sought his support in advocating autonomy for
Tibet.

In previous weeks, China has hosted the 2008 Olympics with
the slogan "One World/ One Dream." This seems to
contradict itself as China has censored the right to protest
on the matter of a Free Tibet. According to the Press
Association, two protesters were deported back to Britain
after waving a banner outside the Olympic Stadium that said,
"Tibet will be free." They were part of a lobbyist
group, Students for a Free Tibet.

In addition, China has gone lengths to block their
customers of downloading songs on Apple's iTunes. The
Associated Press reports the release of an album by the Art
of Peace Foundation, has been blocked by Chinese
authorities. The album, "Songs for Tibet" has been
unavailable in China. Michael Whol, the executive director
of the Art of Peace Foundation, which is based in New York
City, says they issued a release saying that more than 40
Olympic athletes downloaded the album in an act of
solidarity, and that's what triggered the action by the
Chinese. Then, he says, everything got blocked. Apple
acknowledges that customers were having trouble accessing
the album. It featured music by Sting, Alanis Morissete,
Garbage, and others and it included a 15-minute talk by the
Dalai Lama.

Chinese president Hu Jintao and other government officials
accused the Dalai Lama of seeking independence for Tibet and
of fomenting unrest to sabotage the Olympic games. The
Associated Press states that in March 2008, violent protests
broke out in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa insisting that
they were an independent nation before Communist troops
invaded in 1950, while Beijing proclaims the Himalayan
region has been part of China for centuries. His Holiness
the 14th the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso says he only wants
greater autonomy for the Himalayan region to protect its
Buddhist culture.

With the conclusion of the Olympics, China sought out to be
economically wealthy. Winning with 51 gold medals in
comparison to Untied States 36 gold, China profited greatly
with its 40 million dollar Olympic investment. It proved
success in becoming a modern nation with even president Hu
Jintao wearing a formal black suit to the Olympic opening
ceremony. China made its residents proud to be at media's
attention while at the same time belittling it's free
speech. Beggars were pushed out of Beijing and did not grant
a protest permit.

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