I was mountain climbing in Tibet less than 10 years ago. The Chinese were brutal toward Tibetans and tourists alike. I was moved at AK-47 gunpoint to where I needed to stand in line by the border guards going in and coming out to Nepal. These guards had the safety off and fingers on triggers (I am very familiar with the AK). There are 100X worse stories I was told, and I was taken to spots with spent bullet casings everywhere where Tibetans were used for target practice for violating Chinese rules. I can’t retell the story without the person who took me there possibly being identified. We took many measures to meet and talk without the Chinese overseers seeing or hearing us. Every village had a Chinese military base to keep the people under control. Lord, how I hate the Chinese government!
This would be ironic. The Chinese Olympics is the catalyst for wars and uprisings because it allows the only opportunity for China’s opponents to embarass her or force her to limit her actions. The Olympics allowed the Tibetans to create a PR diseaster and cost the Chinese millions of dollars. At the same time, Taiwan also sees this event as a possible opportunity to move closer to declaring independence from China. The Chinese cannot react accordingly without losing her pride and investment in the Olympics. The only thing I can say is God help the Tibetans if the Chinese Olympics are ruined, because at this point China has nothing to lose and plenty of anger to vent. The next couple of months and even years will be interesting.
I should add that the Tibet Mountaineering Association (TMA) is required for oversight of all climbing groups, but they are all Chinese and brutal toward Tibetans they deal with.