What about Tibet?

There have been quite a lot of focus on Tibet in the media the past month. Many are aware of the Chinese intervention within Tibet but few are aware of cultural and historical background of the region itself. I have received many questions of Tibet and the surrounding regions lately and I will attempted to answer a few of them.

Q: Has Tibet ever been an independent nation?
A: According to the ruling government in Beijing Tibet became a part of China in the 11th Century. Most historians are of the belief that Tibet was a Chinese province in the 17th and 17th Centuries until Tibet proclaimed independence in 1913. Chinese military invaded Tibet in 1950

Q: What caused the Tibetan uprising against China (Beijing) in 1959?
A: When the Chinese leadership introduced land reforms in eastern Tibet and begun to destroy Buddhist monasteries thousands of Tibetans fled to Lhasa, which in turn led to an uprising against the leaders in Beijing where thousands of protesters died. This led to that Dalai Lama decided to leave the country and seek exile in northern India and some 80.000 Tibetans decided to follow him of fear by the Chinese military.

Q: Have the Tibetans always been against communist rule?
A: In the beginning the aristocrats and young intellectuals saw the Chinese rule as the beginning of a new era, but the earth reforms made many change their opinion. Many of the poor Tibetans did however welcome the reforms.


Q: Can the Tibetans exercise their religion freely?
A: The Chinese authorities do "mostly" not interfere with ordinary peoples religious views and customs, and they are free to visit their holy and sacred sites. There are however restrictions in the Buddhist monasteries where the spiritual leaders the Lamas are obliged to participate in "Patriotic Reeducation" organized by the Chinese authorities.

Q: Do Dalai Lama demand an independent Tibet?
A: No, he has now given up the idea of a independent Tibet and now only works for a "true autonomy" for Tibet. He wishes Tibet to have a cultural autonomy but the central governing power could be in Beijing.

Something to keep in mind

According to Confucius, `human beings are drawn close to one and other by their common nature, but habits and customs keep us apart`.

It’s difficult for anyone to step outside their culture and realize that their religion, language, food choices, sense of beauty and ways of raising their children have all been determined by the society in which they were born. It also takes a courageous and open-minded person to accept that there are other ways of doing and thinking which can be as effective as their own, or maybe superior. Most of us were brought up to believe there are right and wrong ways to do things, an attitude which closes our minds to infinite possibilities.

´A nation is a group of people united by a mistaken view of the past and a hatred of their neighbors.´
-Ernst Renan

Fistful of Yuan

Compared to the Euro, the value of the US dollar has fallen 76 per cent in the last five years. So who would want to be paid in a currency thats loosing its grunt? Not Iran. Its hedging its bets by selling its oil in a basketful of currencies brimming with Euros and Chinese Yuan. As it prepares to launch an oil exchange which will trade in a currency other that US dollars, its encouraging the big oil producing countries to do the same - effectively destroying the US dollars monopoly over the international market.

At the same time. US President George Bush is branding Iran the worlds worst terrorist nation and traveling to the Middle East to prosecute his case. Mere coincidence? Or punishing payback? Iranian political economist Ardeshir Ommani believes we are seeing an historic shift in the balance of power in the world. The commanding power of the US, economically and military is weakening. The challenge to the dollar is the beginning of the fall of the Empire established by the US after World War II. The forces now gaining strength in the world are in favor of the people of the South and East.

New Internationalist April 2008

Japanese National Health Insurance System

The National Health Insurance system is organized by the government in Japan, and every body must join. Contributions vary according to income. When you go to a doctor you have to present your Health Insurance Card at the reception. You pay the gap between the doctors fee and the insurance rebate each time you see the doctor. Although the prescription system is now being introduced in which a patient goes to a chemist, there are still many hospitals that sell medicine on the spot. This is due to until quite recently, medicines that required a doctors prescription were supplied by doctors at their clinics or at the hospital but not by pharmacies in Japan. Some supported this as convenient since it saved time and energy (No need to visit a doctor and a pharmacy when you are sick), others claim that it gave more control to doctors which may result in negative consequences such as over prescription and collaborating with drug companies. General medicines are available at pharmacies but not at supermarkets.

Ofuru
It is a usual practice in Japan that people avoid bathing when they have a cold. To make the body warm is believed to encourage the virus to become more active, and having a Japanese bath requires to much energy, which does not help the patient, particulary when he or she has a high temperature.

Flower Viewving Hana Mi

Hana mi (花見)

Hana mi (花見)is Japanese annual even, which originated as a festival to celebrate the commencement of spring cultivation.

At first it was held on the same day every year, but later the festival day was chosen depending on whether the cherry blossoms were sufficiently beautiful. In the central part of Japan, the time for Hana mi (花見)is normally in the first two weeks in April.

People go to Hana mi (花見)with family, or friends, or maybe a group of office colleagues. Sitting under the cherry blossom trees, they enjoy drinking, eating or singing as they enjoy the beauty of the flowers. TV, radio or newspapers keep the public well informed as to the state of the cherry blossoms.

Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan

A Short Guide to Kamakura, Part 1


50 km south-west of Tokyo you find the City of Kamakura. The City is also known by its previous name of Renpu. The population of Kamakura is as of January 1 2008 173,600 and has a population density of 4,400 persons per km2. Kamakura received its city rights on November 3, 1939.

Kamakura is very popular among tourists, both from Japan and over seas. It has a beach and many traditional temples, which in combination with close location to greater Tokyo makes it a tourist hot spot. But what Kamakura is maybe most known for is its delicious “Senbei”. Senbei are crispy rice cakes which are grilled and sold fresh on the street stalls along the main shopping street.

Kamakura is somewhat of a natural fortress when being surrounded by open water and mountains. No wonder this place used to be the seat of the Shogun. This argument is strengthen with Azuma Kagamis, the first of the Kamakura Shoguns, Minamoto no Yoritomo decision to choose it as base not only because it was his ancestors land but also because that the landscape itself made it easy to defend against enemies. Kamakura borders with Yokohama to the north which is Japans second largest city, in the west with Zushi which is a city in the Kanagawa region. Evidence proofs that the Kanagawa region have been inhabited as early as 10.000 years ago.