Tibet--My Opinion

Dear family and friends.
Bonnie Bird, one of our closest friends and a fellow teacher here with us in Tianjin, wrote this about our feelings concerning China and the Tibet situation. It mirrors our feelings exactly, and those of our students we work with every day. I feel so bad for China and for the negative press it is getting that is so flagrantly distorted and inaccurate. Like Bonnie, we have come to love and appreciate the Chinese people. Many of our students are volunteers for the Olympics, spending hundreds of hours learning English better and preparing to act as hosts without charge to people from all over the world who will come to visit China, mostly for the first time, so newcomers will not get lost, and will be able to see and enjoy the 5000 years of heritage that China has to offer. There are already over 800,000 unpaid volunteers donating their time to make this event successful. I can not remember ANY time in the past where our entire nation was so excited and involved about any even as China is for the Olympics! People nationwide are cleaning, rebuilding, sprucing up, and preparing to meet the world. The government is spending huge sums of money and manpower to build new roads, add subway lines, landscape, and build new buildings as venues for the Olympics. Can you imagine the preparations for the Salt Lake Olympics of 2002 on a national scale? It is awesome!
I hope you are all well and happy. We are loving our experience here in China, though we're even busier than we were before we "retired!" Funny how that goes. I remember after my Uncle Bob he retired, I asked what he was doing with all his time, and he said, "If I'd known I was going to be so busy, I'd have saved more money so I could hire help!" May the Lord bless you in all you do, and just remember, No country has a "corner" on propaganda. Love, Dondavid and ReNee.

Don & Bonnie Bird Wrote:
Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Much of my English Corner today was taken up with a discussion of "the Tibet issue" and the world's reaction to it. We've received several emails asking our opinion on that issue and, of course, my opinion is based upon my experience here in China and my close association with the Chinese people. Those who call China an "oppressive" nation and accuse her leaders of being "goons" have obviously never been to China and certainly never lived here. We've now lived here for almost three years and see a people who have so much more freedom than we expected or the world knows and a booming capitalistic economy who have welcomed us with open arms and have almost put foreigners on a pedestal. This nation has come a long way forward from the days of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward. Obviously they are still in the development stage and still have a long way to go as we cannot share our belief in God with the Chinese people and have even signed a contract saying that we would not talk about religion. So we don't have our heads in the sand, things are not perfect here and we know full well that this is a communist government; however, it is not the same brand of communism of the former Soviet Union or of Cuba. This is more of a capitalistic communism, which is working well for this nation at the present time, but is in a constant state of evolution.

People who think Tibet has been mistreated have obviously not studied both sides of the issue because the Chinese government has poured millions of dollars into Tibet to bring them a little further into the 21st Century. They have even built a fast train to allow easier access into and out of Tibet across mountains so high that many travelers have to use the supplied supplemental oxygen to breathe normally. They may have even given them too much as I personally know my students from Tibet don't have to meet the same academic standards as my other students. They are given special privileges as is Tibet itself because they are considered minorities. As most of us certainly know, giving someone too much, even when done out of care and kindness, can cripple and handicap those we are trying to assist. Historically, Tibet is a part of China and I wonder if those Americans who call for her independence would be so generous if Texas or California suddenly wanted its independence from the United States. Surely as Americans we should understand the desire for a nation to maintain its historical boundaries as we ourselves fought a civil war to keep the southern states from separating from the rest of our nation.

I have had fears of terrorists coming in to disturb the Olympic Games here in China and now I feel that this Tibet situation is a terrorist plot in a little different form. My personal opinion is that this is a staged event and was well planned to damage China's world image and to disrupt the plans for China to showcase herself to the world through the Olympics. This nation has spent millions of dollars to give the world an event to be proud of and to let the world in to see the real China and her people. Now there are those who are trying to humiliate and shame a people who don't deserve this to happen to them. If this thing escalates into a full-fledged boycott and world opinion backs China into a corner, I fear for the repercussions in the future. It hurts me through and through as I see the disappointment of my students who were so looking forward to welcoming the world to China, particularly as I know that if the current situation continues and even expands further, their heartache will most certainly turn to resentment and anger. The Chinese people feel that they were humiliated and shamed by the Japanese in World War II and they will not allow this to happen again. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

Love to all,

Bonnie