Chinese Soft Power Diluting the Tibetan Cause

Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh:

“A leading Indian English daily published a piece from the Chinese ambassador to India a few days back, but it refused to publish our side of the story,” the Central Tibetan Administration’s Information Secretary Tsewang Gyalpo Arya said, recalling a recent incident when a newspaper refused to publish the Tibetan rebuttal to the Chinese ambassador’s article.

Commenting on China’s growing soft power, on the back of its growing economic influence, the information secretary said that most of the Indian journalists towed the Chinese line.

“Most of the Indian journalists publish what the Chinese say, and not the Indian or the Tibetan side,” he said. “It is not just ethically wrong but it is also morally wrong as it is against the Indian cause as well, and also against the Indian sovereignty as China not just claims Tibet but also parts of India.”

It is not just the media that’s towing the Chinese line due to its growing influence, but also governments. Arya said that Nepal’s pro-China government has cracked down on Tibetan activists in the country. Nepal had long been the transit point between Chinese-ruled Tibet and India, but not anymore as the Chinese government has now fully sealed the border and the Nepali government has also come under the Chinese influence.

Thupten Dorjee, the Tibetan Children’s Village’s president, said that Tibetans are rounded up and detained every time a Chinese dignitary visits, and it has been the norm for decades.

“We understand the situation of the Government of India. China and India are two Asian giant states that should cooperate, but this issue (of Tibet) should also come up. It is in India’s benefit,” Dorjee said.

Madhur Sharma is a journalism student at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, and a history graduate from the Delhi University. He tweets at @madhur_mrt.