Yet Another Trophy – Congratulations to Dalai Lama

 

Upon receiving the news that Dalai Lama was named the 2008 World’s Most Influential People by Time Magazine, I wrote Yet Another Recognition – Congratulations to Dalai Lama to offer my congratulations.  Some of my friends felt that the tone might be too strong to be considered congratulatory, so here I am, writing another article and hoping it can better convey my sincere congratulations to his holiness.

 

I, unlike a lucky few, never had the honor to know Dalai Lama personally, and naturally I have never had the chance to admire his holiness’s bookshelves filled with the trophies after trophies he received over the years.  I can only sit in the corner of my cozy bedroom staring at the only memorable thing I have ever received, my degree.  In its humble $10 frame, the photocopy looks pretty impressive while the original being safely stored in a well-protected bank vault.

 

I know, believe me, had I have more things to treasure, I would have not been so protective.  I can only imagine what it must have been like for his holiness to look at his extraordinary collection of trophies, more than anybody in the world could ever match.

 

He has to be proud of what he has achieved over the years.  Not only does he remain the beloved and only spiritual and political leader of the exiled Tibetans for over 50 years, he also spreads the messages of love and peace to millions of people with his not so fluent English, which is a true testament to the power of his messages.  Not only did he meet so many important world leaders, he also befriended scores of well-known celebrities from many countries.  Not only did he give speeches in so many prominent venues, he also received keys to so many famous cities, although all are without gates and the keys probably won’t open the doors of any city halls.

 

The army of trophies on his holiness’s bookshelves has to be his most treasured accomplishment as words and memories fade away slowly but surely and these trophies are the only ones loyally accompany him even alone at night.

 

Which one would his holiness treasure the most?  Could it be the Lincoln Award from Research Institute of America for His Holiness’ distinguished leadership in the service of freedom on January 23, 1960?  That was only few months after his holiness fled Tibet and it had to be a real moral bolster to encourage him and his followers to carry on with the mission of the armed rebellion and to fight to get their power back.

 

Could it be the Nobel Peace Price on December 10, 1989?  Just the title of “Nobel Price” should make anyone cringe with admiration, and not to mention the whole world was boycotting China after the Tiananmen Square student movement.  You can almost see the sparkles in his holiness’s eyes.  The dream of his and his followers’ was so close to become a reality.

 

Could it be the Congressional Gold Medal on October 17, 2007?  It is the highest award a civilian can receive from the U.S. Congress, and every single important American leader, from President Bush to the House speaker Nancy Pelosi, was present to honor his holiness.  The whole US government with its almighty military although bugged down in Iraq seemed to be behind his holiness and his followers, with full force.

 

Or, could it be the latest one, the 2008 World’s Most Influential People from Time Magazine?  The whole world seemed to unite once more to support his holiness.  With the help from virtually all free media outlet, so many world leaders came out to condemn the brutal crackdown by the Chinese government.  Although the brainwashed Chinese people are trying to spoil the party, his holiness must have been feeling the momentum finally on his side.

 

I wouldn’t know given so many choices, but his holiness must have his picks.  Any of them, frankly, would make me happy for the rest of my life, and that’s the true tribute to his holiness’s achievement.

 

Back in the corner of my cozy bedroom staring at the photocopy of my degree, I sincerely congratulate Dalai Lama on this well-deserved recognition.

 

May the new trophy find its rightful place on his holiness’s bookshelves.

Yet Another Recognition – Congratulations to Dalai Lama

Time magazine named Dalai Lama as the World’s Most Influential People of 2008.  When his holiness and his followers are celebrating yet another recognition, I really hate to be the party spoiler but in the aftermath of the Lhasa riot that more than 19 innocent civilians have been killed by his followers and the global movement against the exiled Tibetans by hundreds of thousands of oversea Chinese people, the question is, what good will it do?

 

In his lifetime, Dalai Lama has received numerous recognizable awards, especially the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize.  We all know what he and his followers have achieved other than receiving useless awards after useless awards after that, while the 6 million Tibetans inside China have made great improvement in their everyday lives.

 

It must have been very frustrating not only to Dalai Lama himself, but also to his followers and supporters in the west.  The recent riot in Lhasa clearly demonstrated their hopelessness and desperation.  With the new railroad, Tibet has since opened itself up to the China proper and the whole world.  Goods, including food, fuel, and luxury items can now be transported to Tibet cheaper and faster than ever.  Millions of tourists from all over the world can now visit Tibet every year and bring hundreds of millions of dollars to Tibetan economy.  Tibetans are enjoying much better living, much better than that of under the rule of his holiness, and a lot better than just a short few years ago.

 

What really bothers Dalai Lama and his followers the most is the fact that more and more people from every corners of the earth can now see Tibet with their own eyes.  They can visit Tibet, enjoy the heavenly sceneries, and talk to ordinary Tibetans.  As a result, Dalai Lama and his government in exile lost the monopoly on speaking for all Tibetans.

 

In fact, the most powerful evidence against his holiness’ accusation of brutal crackdown by the Chinese government on the peaceful protesters came from the almost instant blogs, pictures and videos of western tourists trapped in Lhasa.  They showed us the protesters lead by monks set hundreds of shops on fire, and beaten and killed innocent non-Tibetan looking civilians.  Moreover, the killing and the disruption of the torch rally united the Chinese people, especially those living overseas.  They come out in force to condemn the killing, distortion by western media, and support the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

 

That’s something that his holiness and his followers had never accounted for.

 

Now comes another recognition.  It indeed deserves some celebration, especially in this difficult time with all of their lies debunked and their plan to disrupt the Olympic Torch Rally defeated.  I don’t think the celebration will last long tough.  The reality of Tibetans in China are moving on to a more prosperous future while they themselves are still left with nothing should set in just about now.

 

The question to his holiness and his followers remains, what good will another recognition do?

 

Olympics are for everyone but them

Even before Christ was born, the Greeks were able to come together and celebrate the common humanity.  People set aside their differences and laid down their weapons to join the quest of excellences in human spirits in Olympia.

 

In 2008, some 2700 years later, why cannot we honor what Olympics really are?  China has been diligently preparing for the event and Chinese people are ready to welcome the athletes and spectators with open arms.  The political theatre we saw lately is not only the profound disrespect to Olympic spirits, but also a blatant insult to all 1.3 billion Chinese.  Do not repeat the nonsense that their aim is the Chinese government not the Chinese people.  If one cannot distinguish an athletic event from politics, one cannot be trusted to have the intellectual capacity to know the difference between Chinese government and Chinese people.

So, what are Olympics?

Olympics are what you want them to be.  In other words, Olympics are a blank canvas that you can create anything on.  To me and many if not most of my fellow Chinese, Olympics are a chance for the entire world to get together every 4 years.  Although we also want to showcase our country, I do not believe that in anyway compromises the Olympic spirit.  From an old Chinese saying: in Buddha’s eyes, everyone is a Buddha, while in demon’s eyes, everyone is a demon.

 

These are the so called athletes who have exhausted the hospitalities of Chinese people.  We call on the Chinese government to reject their visa application, if they are able to ever make it to the big stage, which I sincerely doubt.  

• Andrew Michael (SF)
• Majora Carter (SF)

 Please contribute to this list.  We need names and pictures if possible.

 

And, bravo to the French as well 🙂

Image courtesy of unknown author, originally from here.  Delicious!