The Chinese authorities are once again repressing the cry of Tibetans for freedom. I have been working with my brother-in-law to promote the dignity and welfare of Tibetans by sponsoring programs such as a craft shop in Lhasa that markets only products made in Tibet by Tibetans. The craft shop is just a few blocks from the Jokhang temple and the Barkhor market, where earlier this month the Chinese army responded violently to what was basically peaceful demonstrations on the anniversary of the 1959 protests of Tibetans against Chinese domination .
My brother-in-law is under a curfew for foreigners and Tibetans and martial law that restricts him and his Tibetan staff to their headquarters and an adjacent hotel in the Tibetan sector of Lhasa.
The Dalai Lama has come out in support of the Tibetans protesting the continuing oppression; the Chinese have cut off any negotiations to restore autonomy and religious freedom to Tibet. Yet, Hu Jintao, the current supreme leader, is concerned about the effect a severe crackdown will have on the Olympics.
We Americans, who should be supporting freedom and dignity around the world, from Darfur to Zimbabwe to Venezuela to Tibet, need to make our voices felt for the atrocities that have occurred and will continue to occur in all of these areas. To support the Tibetans, we should stop shopping for "made in China" items. We should continue our due diligence on defective and dangerous products made in China. We should stop our flow of tourist dollars to China and protest the treatment of Tibetans during our presence at the Olympics. But we should continue a diplomatic dialogue with China so it understands that suppression of freedom will reap a wave of moral reprehension.
ARTHUR E. HIGINBOTHAM, MINNEAPOLIS
