This is the big story today so I am not going to rehash it, except to say that I very much doubt there will be widespread unrest; the government is taking no chances, and large areas of Western China are effectively under martial law. Even in tiny and relatively peaceful Zhongdian (the so-called “Shangri-la County” in Northwest Yunnan) there were several truckloads of soldiers being moved into position while we were there last week. The airwaves and print media in China are filled with stories emphasizing the Han Chinese version of Τibetan history at the expense of any other possible perspective, and the propaganda machine is hard at work splicing footage of happy, dancing (because in the world according to CCTV, what else can minorities really do except dance?) Τibetans grateful for the blessings bestowed upon them by the Chinese Communist Party.
Some of the Tibetan villagers we stayed with last week had posters of Chairman Mao and Deng Xiaoping and spoke of the benefits of Chinese modernization, while others secretly displayed photos of the Dalai Lama and wished for his return. Unsurprisingly, given the enormous complexity of this issue, there were a wide range of views even in just