Reporting Truth for Humanity’s SakeBy Tsering Tsomo
Scribes devoted
little attention to His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Hobart, the
capital city of Tasmania Island in Australia this past week. This visit
has immense significance owing to the role Tasmania played in heralding
vigorous discussions on environmental protection in Australia that
later gave way to vibrant grassroots campaigns for the green movement.
The state of Tasmania in the Australian federation is also famous for
its wealth of unspoiled natural environment. The region has a history
of anti- dam movement that attracted international attention to the
devastating impacts of mismanaged dam projects.Tasmania’s
history in promoting Australia’s environment movement thus provided a
fitting backdrop to His Holiness’ message on global warming when he
talked to over 4,000 people on the subject of “Our Earth: Who is
Responsible?”In Hobart, he emphasized the importance of
pressing “global issues” and “global responsibilities” over national
interests. In an obvious reference to the Copenhagen conference, he
expressed satisfaction that governments are taking the issue of global
warming more seriously. Regarding environmental degradation on the
Tibetan plateau, His Holiness quoted studies that predicted that major
rivers originating in Tibet will dry up in 30 to 40 years if Chinese
authorities continue its current policies and practices in Tibet. Like
many environmental activists and scientists, his concerns for the
welfare and future of over a billion people in South Asia who rely on
Tibet’s rivers for fresh water was unmistakable. “So now those major
rivers that cover all of Asia from China to Pakistan, which are the
basis of human beings’ life – it is not just a concern for the local
people but for all the people, it is something that needs protection
from global warming,” he was quoted as saying by the Australian media.In
his meetings with local leaders and politicians in Hobart, the Nobel
Peace laureate discussed global warming and other urgent issues related
to the environment. He met Australian Greens leader Senator Bob Brown;
President of the Australian Conservation Foundation Don Henry and
Tasmanian Minister for Climate Change Lisa Singh: all fervent
supporters of environmental protection and judicious use of natural
resources.Strangely, all this was lost on China’s propaganda
machinery that went into overdrive churning out reports on its online
media outlets accusing His Holiness of promoting “Tibetan independence
to deceive the overseas audience who do not know the truth”. A Dec. 11
report on the state-controlled *eng.tibet.cn* also claimed that His
Holiness said nearly nothing about the environment and climate change
in his climate-themed talk in Hobart. The PRC’s propaganda department
has always held the distinction of ingeniously distorting news and
views to serve particular political objectives that go in line with the
narrative it has carefully composed for the last 60 years of its rule
over Tibet. Therefore, it was not surprising to see those who actually
attended the Hobart talk scratching their heads in disbelief when they
saw this report in the Chinese press. They know that there was no
mention of “Tibetan independence” or attempts at deception in His
Holiness’ talk in Hobart. What they found – much to the disappointment
of Beijing’s official storytellers – was a Nobel laureate committed to
the promotion and protection of universal human values calling for
serious commitments from world leaders on measures to tackle global
warming.If fictionists in Beijing were wise, they would have
heeded His Holiness’ call for cooperation between Chinese and
international experts to engage in independent research in Tibet so
that the scale of environmental damage could be accurately gauged and
sustainable solutions found. “With full cooperation of Chinese experts,
we (should) organize some experts to go to Tibet and study how much
damage already done and what is the best way to protect, the best way
to reduce the damage. I think that China is also in need,” he said.
This is the message that should have been highlighted in the Chinese
media as it contributes to the ongoing discussions on global warming.
Climate change is a global issue and should not be politicized as
Beijing is so inclined to do. In Hobart, His Holiness rightly explained
that Tibet, being the largest reservoir of ice after the North and
South Pole is crucial to the well being of global climate. Tibet is the
source of livelihood for more than a billion Asians as major rivers
such as the Indus, Yellow, Yangtse, Mekong, etc flows from there.What
should not be overlooked is that when His Holiness speaks about the
state of environment in Tibet, he also speaks on behalf of over a
billion Asians whose lives and livelihood are threatened by the
continued degradation of Tibet’s fragile ecosystem. China’s refusal to
listen to legitimate concerns voiced by His Holiness only serves to
endanger the lives of not only the Tibetans but other Asians in the
downstream countries including China. Such behaviour says a lot about
China’s sincerity and seriousness in becoming a responsible power on
the global stage.There are obvious signs that China’s dominance
in Asia is feeding into growing resentment among downstream countries
such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Thailand. Grassroots groups
have mushroomed against a series of Chinese attempts to dam and divert
the Mekong River. China has already built three dams on the Mekong and
eight more are in the pipeline. Representatives at the
recently-concluded Mekong Media Forum in Thailand expressed resentment
at how China behaved irresponsibly by not considering their concerns on
the impacts of damming the Mekong. Over 60 million people rely on
Mekong for food, transport and water. According to a Dec. 14 report on
*shanherald.com*, many representatives at the Forum believed that the
“Chinese media did not report stories about what their government is
planning on the river such as dam constructions.” The absence of any
genuine discussion on such issues in Chinese media was obvious when a
Chinese journalist who was a participant told the Forum that let alone
the Chinese public, even many in the Chinese media were not aware of
downstream countries’ dissatisfaction with China’s handling of the
Mekong River. “If I hadn’t come to the forum I would never know that
the downstream people are dissatisfied with us Chinese people,” she was
quoted as saying by *shanherald.com*.In India and Bangladesh,
people are equally concerned about the fate of the Brahmaputra River
after a series of reports emerged that China is damming it in a big
way. These concerns are conspicuous by their absence in the Chinese
media. India knows all too well how devastating the consequences can
be. In June 2000, the breach of a dam in Tibet led to floods and left
over 100 people dead or missing in Arunachal Pradesh. In August that
year, swollen lakes in Tibet caused severe flooding of the Sutlej River
in Himachal Pradesh, sweeping away around 100 bridges and killing
scores of people.If Beijing wants the world to believe that it
is qualified to lead the world in the new century, it should begin by
telling the truth and be more humane and considerate. For starters, it
could help save the planet by enlightening its own people.–The author is press officer at the Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in New Delhi. Views expressed in Exile Scape do not reflect those of the Central Tibetan Administration.
