Tibet Redo?

I read an article in the Sunday paper recently about China's efforts to relocate some 250,000 Tibetans into "Socialist Villages". Let me repeat that, relocate Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand people, nearly 10% of the Tibetan population. Then I dug a bit further and found the a more in depth article, written several months back and posted on a 'watch' type organization.

Last year the Chinese government launched a campaign that roughly translates to "Do it yourself program", requiring villagers in certain parts of the Tibetan Autonomous Region to rebuild their houses in the following 2-3 years. The new houses result in rows of identical stone houses along the street with the requisite red flag hanging overhead. People impacted by the decision cannot contest nor refuse.

The program was supposed to be a partnership where the financial burden was shared by those impacted and the government, in order to combat poverty such that the poorest families were to relocated to more central and accessible areas, encouraging families to start businesses or seek employment. But, similar to other government programs that I've read about, it's been subject to it's fair share of corruption and power and even unfunded mandates.

This results in not only stripping the rural Tibetans from their homes, their livelihood, their land, their animals and all they know and places them instead in locations where their only skills are no longer usable and they are unable to care for livestock to live off of. The cost was estimated at $5,000 to build a new home with the government lending in $1,200, only 1/4th the cost. Loans are required for the rest forcing many into debt in a part of the world where your yearly salary might be just several hundred dollars.

Some theories talk about the desire to provide a more modern face on this ancient region under Chinese control since the mid 50's, or to raise the standard of living, or to eliminate the chance for dissension deep in rural locations, or to gain political control in an area rich in culture, language and religious traditions. It's been an area vast in land mass and far from government entities.

All this just in time to put on a good face for the 2008 Olympics perhaps? Or perhaps this goes much deeper and beyond that timeframe.

From the Hutongs, to Tibet, to mainstream factories in Beijing, to the new rules and regulations for signs (ridding them of Chinglish), elevator entry procedures (this is mass chaos where those in the elevator have to fight to get out as people rush in), not a stone will likely be left unturned until the face of all of China, or that portion believed to be on display, is changed in the eyes of outsiders who glimpse the land for a few weeks and then leave.

Can you imagine, you, your family and 250,000 other people, nearly half the population of Alaska, being forced to move, to take out loans for new homes, to be placed in some cases under military watch with security guards and cameras, can you imagine losing your ancestral home, perhaps your culture and lastly maybe even your pride. As you get in line, march to the tune of a different drummer and raise the flag above your roof.

For some, the new homes may bring a new way of life, it may even be positive, but I have doubt it's all good news for everyone. We'll never really know, Tibet is one of the most tightly controlled and access restricted places in China. Reporters are allowed in once per year in groups under foreign ministry guidance and risk being removed if they interview people, the article itself was written by someone on a tourist trip in Tibet.

For me, the more I read about the impact of this Olympics on China, the more I see the darker side of it, the side trying hard to change it's face for the rest of the world, at all cost it seems at times. To say "the times they are a changing" is a huge understatement in China.