Mar 23, 2008

An Open Letter To Hu Jintao

Dear President Hu

Recent events and comments in the People's Daily has made the life of those sympathetic to China in the West a bit more difficult. Yes, we know that the Dalai Lama and his friends were responsible for the protests, but shooting demonstrators and talking about "the shattering of the conspiracy and sabotaging activities of the 'Tibet independence' forces" is not the way to win friends outside of your borders.

Can we suggest the following:
  • fire the Editor of The People's Daily;
  • fire who ever it was who led the response on the ground to the demonstrations in Tibet;
  • make all those arrested and who were guilty of property damage do some community service to make amends;
  • release those who protested but did not damage property;
  • don't execute anyone, but feel free to otherwise throw the book at anyone guilty of physical assault;
  • ask the Dalai Lama to show a bit more restraint and offer to send an envoy to meet him in a neutral location to ensure his concerns are discussed;
  • allow tourists to return to Tibet immediately;
  • ask your Embassies and Consulates abroad to write Op Eds to all local newspapers reminding people what life in feudal Tibet was like (particularly for the slaves) before Deng Xiaoping moved in from Sichuan to liberate Tibet;
  • invite any Foreign Minister who wants to, to visit Tibet this year;
  • allow the foreign media (not just Hong Kong media) immediate access to Tibet.

Should you follow this advice and should there be any further disturbances - be light handed. Everyone will know that the Dalai Lama is up to no good.

Have a very good Olympics and keep your economy growing - the globe needs that growth!

Yours sincerely

The Hive Team