"An interesting perspective on reporting from Radio Netherlands Worldwide"

As an active supporter of Tibet for some years, I've seen this sort of thing before. Don't underestimate the ability of the Chinese state to spread false propaganda and deflame legitimate dissent. There is a huge state secret service that is as every bit as active as the KGB were and every bit as accomplished in their ruthlessness and brutality. See those chaps scrapping with the British coppers during the flames progress through London? That's them.

Many message boards had Chinese agents on them whose sole purpose was to wind people up and cause rift and division amongst the posters to the board. They were easy to spot but hard to ignore - tenacious isn't in it. If you want to find out what's happening in Tibet, talk to a Tibetan, not a Chinese.

The surge of Chinese nationalism is not hard to understand given the relentless coverage given to the whipping China is taking over the Tibet situation. The problem here is their opinion is irrelevant as it's not their leaders (such as the Panchen Lama) being kidnapped, imprisoned or killed, or their country being occupied, or their culture being systematically and deliberately destroyed. A considerable part of the blame also lies with the Olympic authorities who awarded the games to China with the naive hope she would stop her human rights abuses before the games were staged.

Even though HH Dalai Lama has abandoned the idea of independence and seeks autonomy within China for Tibet the Chinese Government still flood the country with Han Chinese settlers and treat the Tibetans as second-class citizens in their own country. Those Tibetans languishing in Laogais with other dissidents for transgressing some law designed to curb free speech or the right to worship.

Given the chance to a free society, China would be the greatest nation on the planet. It's still largely free of the homogenising influence of Western capitalist culture and it's people are resourceful, intelligent and work hard. The real crime in China is the suppression of all her people, and although Chinese all over the planet are brimming with indignation at the treatment metered out to their motherland in the press, it's a shame they don't turn their efforts to calling for a free society thus enabling their countrymen and women to realise their not inconsiderable potential.