My thanks to the Dalai Lama for putting all of this back into perspective. When you look at the whole picture of human history I doubt that Tiger Woods will ever make any lists of important figures, or great leaders.
For goodness sake, it’s not like he has shifted the paradigm of economics for example, or led an army into battle, or discovered an element.
For cripes sake, he hits a little white ball into a hole! THAT’S IT!
As the policeman says, “Nothing to see here. Move along!”
Whatever wrongs and oppressions introduced by the Chinese government after 1959, NO one could deny the fact that Chinese government did "Free Tibet" by abolishing Tibetan Slavery and Serfdom system and restored most Human Rights, eliminated the many crushing taxes, started work projects, and greatly reduced unemployment and beggary. Expropriated the landed estates owned by lords and lamas, distributed many thousands of acres to tenant farmers and landless peasants, established secular schools, thereby breaking the educational monopoly of the monasteries. And constructed running water and electrical systems in Lhasa. Finally, Tibet transformed itself coming out from under a dark and cruel theocratic feudal serf and slave system.
However, after Mao's disastrous misrule, for the past 30 years, China has undergone dramatic changes, so is Tibet with its living standard being dramatically improved after Dalai Lama's slavery & serfdom era. As the Tibet historian A. Tom Grunfeld points out, "Tibet has roads, schools, hospitals, a burgeoning middle class, internet cafes, karaoke bars, discos, and some 100,000 tourists annually. Religion is widely practiced. There is a continue upsurge of practicing traditional arts, crafts, poetry and painting by the Tibetans benefited from the infrastructure and growing tourist visitors.
Giant injections of state capital in major infrastructure projects have been driving growth in Tibet in recent years, with GDP rising an average of 12% per annum. China government subsidies 75% of the TAR's GDP. New air and rail links made possible growth in needed tourism. Incomes have been rising for both rural and urban residents.
In June 2008, in a meeting with members of the European Parliament, the Chinese Tibetologists were asked why the Dalai Lama is still branded as a separatist while he has repeatedly said he is seeking autonomy of Tibet, not independence, that has been well received across the world. However, very few people care to understand the true nature of Dalai Lama's autonomy, not independence, 'Middle-Way Approach' : In his books , he claims a "Grand Tibet" which double the size of current Tibet including areas in the neighbouring provinces where the Dalai Lamas had NEVER exerted any local political power in the past, roughly a quarter of China's territory . In 1987, speaking to the U.S. Congress, the Dalai Lama declared his "Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet" textually : "7.5 million settlers must leave". He has also demanded the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Tibetan populated areas, and the relocation of other ethnic groups which have been living there for hundreds of years. The same demand was also mentioned in his "Seven-Point New Suggestions" in 1988. He also asks for the rights to establish representatives in foreign countries . These autonomy proposals threaten China's sovereignty, said the researcher.
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