Kathyw Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Tibet is a country of Tibetians but is ruled by China. I know that has been the case for many hundreds of years but why? The Tibetians don't want to be ruled by china yet the west does nothing. To stage the Olympics in china is surely saying it's ok to behave heavy handed and not allow protests, demontrations nor foriegn press in Tibet. I don't know much about this as above shows but after the latest 'uprising' the western world still does nothing, no slaps on the hand - nothing. At least with the Olympics the world has a bartering tool does it not? I remeber similar uprising in the eastern bloc before the wall came down people fought against their oppressers. I rememeber most of all Jan Palak - an image that still haunts me today. And I still don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 OK. This is a tricky one, and one that I don't understand very well either. What I do believe is that a lot of this is down to the dollar (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong!!!). Basically China has accumulated a large sum of US dollars - think trillions! Such a big sum contributes a great deal to maintaining the position of the dollar as a reserve currency. With the US in a bit of poo at the moment, almost a recession with Banks closing and being rescued etc (in part due to bad lending decisions and defaults etc), the US can not afford for anything to rock the boat. Do you get where I'm coming from? So in short, the the worst thing that could happen to the US economy now would be for China to liquidate their stocks of US dollars. If they did that it would most certainly cause a huge drop in the dollar price (China is really maintaining the price of the dollar at the moment) and cause a full on recession. As a result the US are the last country wanting to 'rock the boat' with China. We are in some regards 'in bed' with the US, therefore do not expect much help from us either. In addition we wouldn't want to see a dollar crash as that would I believe adversely effect us too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I don't understand why "we" have done nothing either. I guess because there's nothing "in it" for the West financially perhaps. I don't pretend to understand the whole situation but have read various books over the years - and what I have read of what has happened to Tibetans, well you really wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy One of the many times I have felt totally helpless/useless and disgusted with some members of the human race. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 An interesting, if heavy (!) article here on the dollar and china if it's your thing How China could crash the US Dollar on a whim the conclusion reads as follows: Conclusion In short, China has several economic “weapons†at its disposal for countering the US, ranging from the manipulation of its currency to the diversification of its burgeoning stock of forex reserves. It also has several less blunt options to choose from, such as enabling Chinese companies to compete more directly and effectively with US companies, and opposing the US in securing a domestic energy supply. On all of these fronts, the US is essentially being held hostage, since it has become so dependent on China as the world’s factory. Ultimately, it seems unlikely that China will deliberately butt heads with the US unless it is first provoked, but America should nonetheless be on its guard, since its economy hangs in the balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wickychoo Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Tibet doesn't have oil (or anything else "we" want) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I don't understand why "we" have done nothing either. I guess because there's nothing "in it" for the West financially perhaps. At a guess because a recession in the US would have a negative impact on us and *may* send us into recession too. Certainly banks would suffer as would house prices and similar commodities. Already our UK banks are saying they are going to toughen up on lending etc in anticipation of bad times ahead. Financially no, there's nothing in it for anyone, certainly not us. The reverse in fact. We're such a lovely, altruistic race aren't we? . Very sad indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 This situation in Tibet has been going on for many years though - the Dalai Lama has been in exile for 40-50 years I think so it's not just sprung up over the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) This situation in Tibet has been going on for many years though - the Dalai Lama has been in exile for 40-50 years I think so it's not just sprung up over the last few years. That's true enough. Can't answer 'why no help' before now, can someone else? can only put a suggestion of 'why not' now. I'd hate to think it was because there was nothing 'in it' for anyone to help..... Do the books you've been reading Ange give any clues? Edited March 17, 2008 by tegk68 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kats n greys Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Free Tibet website China invaded Tibet in 1950 , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathyw Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 (edited) I worked in the foreign exchange markets for most of my working life so have a good understanding of how that side of politics works but there have been many periods of stability in both the US and UK yet Tibet has still been under the chinese hammer. I think the fact that they have no oil (as said by a few posters) or anything that the west regards as valuable has a lot to do with it but I find that dispicable. And the western world does not consist of US and UK, yes I know the US is powerful but if all the other countries of the western world were to tell china to get out of Tibet or face a total ban regarding their exports to the west - china would have to think carefully. The UN has the clout - United Nations - only if you have assets? After all how many people really like 'made in china' junk? Edited March 17, 2008 by Kathyw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegk68 Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 The truth is, of course, that our attitude to China is ambivalent. On the one hand, we criticise its record on human rights. On the other, we trade happily with it. For example, when Gordon Brown went to Beijing recently, he took with him a plane-load of British businessmen, all eagerly looking for investment opportunities in the People's Republic. The next minute you will hear gentle tones of concern being expressed about China's human rights issues. The comparatively low level of inflation here in the past few years owes much to the influx of cheap goods from China. No boycott there; quite the contrary. We have being buying them as soon as they hit the shelves. Even our banks have stakes in China, the Royal Bank of Scotland has a stake in the Bank of China for example. We are now so deeply reliant on China economically, it's seems truely scary. I don't know what would happen if we, or other western countries pulled out of China (i.e. boycotts). I should imagine the ramifications would be enormous. Can anyone shed some light on this? Again I don't know why we or others haven't helped in the past. I see that the UN have been involved since 1959 but to no avail so it seems. It's all desperately complicated to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 for anyone intrested in Tibetian history a good book to read is the Dalai Lamas Autobiograpy http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freedom-Exile-Auto...7915&sr=1-4 Ange, I still have your Tibetian book, I was saving it to read it on the plane for my next overseas trip if thats okay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReikiAnge Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Ange, I still have your Tibetian book, I was saving it to read it on the plane for my next overseas trip if thats okay No problem Sam, keep it until you've had a chance to read it, no rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathyw Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I have bought stuff 'Made in china' and then dumped it when I actually looked. Now I look and do not buy. I also do not buy stuff made in japan both because of their treatment of animals. Most of the banks in the western world have shares in UK banks and have done for years. A few years after I had left work I went to a 'do' and myself and my old manager were talking to a couple of german forex dealers. After some good natured bantering about the state of the uk, my old manager said 'well you could have sorted it if you had won the war'. The forex dealers laughed and one said 'No we can wait - we have enough shares in uk banks that we could if we wanted cause real problems for the uk. This was said jokingly but afterwards I asked my old manager if it was true. He said Yes and that there were no UK banks that were wholly owned by the UK the only exception (this was then I don't know about now) was Coutts. china seems to have the mighty US by the short and curlies - the oil states have the western world by the throat. And poor Tibet is paying the price. seems to me. One day all the earths resources are going to run out - who will have the power then? Tibet I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nettie Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I have bought stuff 'Made in china' and then dumped it when I actually looked. Now I look and do not buy.I also do not buy stuff made in japan both because of their treatment of animals. Most of the banks in the western world have shares in UK banks and have done for years. A few years after I had left work I went to a 'do' and myself and my old manager were talking to a couple of german forex dealers. After some good natured bantering about the state of the uk, my old manager said 'well you could have sorted it if you had won the war'. The forex dealers laughed and one said 'No we can wait - we have enough shares in uk banks that we could if we wanted cause real problems for the uk. This was said jokingly but afterwards I asked my old manager if it was true. He said Yes and that there were no UK banks that were wholly owned by the UK the only exception (this was then I don't know about now) was Coutts. china seems to have the mighty US by the short and curlies - the oil states have the western world by the throat. And poor Tibet is paying the price. seems to me. One day all the earths resources are going to run out - who will have the power then? Tibet I hope. Kathy, I think this is why we're now called a global economy, everyone has finger's in everyone elses pies. Can you fill me in a bit more about Japan's treatment of animals? Is it their whaling? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts