Tibet's monks embarrassed China yet again by staging a demonstration in front of foreign journalists who were brought in by Chinese occupation authorities to show off the fact that Tibet was calm after a week of riots. The monks proved that theory wrong big-time.
That the Tibetans chose to break cover with a Chinese crackdown in progress is amazing. The talking heads and conventional wisdom was that the Chinese military had crushed the rebellion and Tibet's people were under Chinese control again. Everyone was wrong, wrong, wrong.
Are our political leaders going to allow such reckless courage to be ignored?
These people thought it was important enough to get the word of their revolt out that they placed their lives in mortal peril, demonstrating in the presence of the reporters and armed Chinese occupation forces who were probably pointing their guns at the demonstrators. They've probably all disappeared and are either in prison, or dead. That's how the Chinese government deals with their political opponents inside Tibet, Hong Kong, and within China itself.
It's too late to move the Olympics, so all that the world can do is decide whether their leaders will boycott the Opening Ceremonies. Politicians over here are pressuring President Bush to reconsider his intention to go to Beijing. And I hope he does. By attending the opening, it's sending a signal to those inside occupied Tibet and free Tibetans around the world that the United States isn't willing to stand up for them.
And we're talking about a political boycott, not an athletic one.
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