Nancy

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skaters on the other side of the ice.............. ******************************************************** Tibetans have ruled themselves for centuries. In the 1950's China began taking over Tibet. Now Tibetans are ruled in China, many are tortured and imprisoned for praticing their religion. If you love freedom and you want to help others have their freedom, join the "Beijing 2008: Race for Tibet" team. Tell China to prioritize human rights and negotiate with the Dalai Lama before the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Thank you!!! www.racefortibet.org ******************************************************** .... ..10 Facts about Tibet .. .. .. .. ..[if gte mso 9]>.. ....[endif]-->..[if gte mso 9]>.. .. ..0.. ..Clean.. ..Clean.. .. .. ..false.. ..false.. ..false.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..MicrosoftInternetExplorer4.. ....[if gte mso 9]>.. .. .. ....[endif]-->..[if !mso]>.. ..[endif]--> ..[if gte mso 10]> ..[endif]--> ....

10 Facts about ....Tibet....

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1. The country of ..Tibet.. was invaded by ....China.... in 1949/50. Since that time, over 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the occupation, over 6,000 monasteries have been destroyed ,and thousands of Tibetans have been imprisoned and tortured for their political or religious beliefs.

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2. The Dalai Lama, ..Tibet..'s political and spiritual leader, was forced to flee ....Tibet.... in 1959. He escaped to ....India.... along with over 120,000 other Tibetans, and established the Tibetan Government in Exile in Dharamsala . In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his steadfast dedication to nonviolence.

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3. ....Tibet.... was independent. ....Tibet.... had a sovereign government, currency, postal system, language, laws, and customs. Prior to 1950, the Tibetan government signed treaties with foreign nations including ..Britain.., ..Mongolia.., and ....Nepal..... While the Chinese government claims that ..Tibet.. has "always" been part of ..China.., its invasion of ..Tibet.. resembles the same imperialist aggression that ....China.... accuses other powers of exhibiting.

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4. The "Tibet Autonomous Region" (TAR) is not ....Tibet...., nor is it autonomous. The Chinese government has divided historical ....Tibet.... into one "region" and several "prefectures" and "counties . " The TAR encompasses only the central area and some of the eastern regions of ....Tibet..... Well over half of ....Tibet....'s original territory has been absorbed into Chinese provinces. "Autonomous" is a euphemism for direct control by ....Beijing.....

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5. In ....Tibet.... today ,the basic freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly are strictly limited, and arbitrary arrests continue. According to human rights groups, there are currently hundreds of political prisoners in ....Tibet...., including the young Panchen Lama, imprisoned since age six. Torture of political prisoners is commonplace.

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6. The Chinese government's policies of cultural assimilation and population transfer of ethnic Chinese into ....Tibet.... threaten the very survival of the Tibetan identity. Chinese colonists outnumber Tibetans in most urban areas and many rural areas, making Tibetans a minority in their own nation. Meanwhile, thousands of Tibetans continue to flee from ..Tibet.. every year, making the treacherous journey over the ..Himalayas.. and into the uncertain world of exile.

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7. Historical ..Tibet.. was a vast country, whose area was roughly equal to ..Western Europe... ..Tibet.. is the source of five of ..Asia..'s largest rivers, which provide the lifeblood for 2 billion people. ..China.. has endangered ....Tibet....'s fragile environment through strip-mining, nuclear waste dumping, and extensive deforestation.

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8. Although the Chinese government claims to have developed ....Tibet...., most good jobs benefit Chinese colonists, not Tibetans. Tibetans have little or no say in how their country is developed. ..China.. has spent millions of dollars building infrastructure in ..Tibet.., but neglected education and healthcare, and many of the roads, buildings, and power plants that have been built directly support heavy militarization of the plateau, allowing ..China.. to maintain ....Tibet.... as a police state.

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9. ..China.. is aggressively seeking foreign investment for its "Go West" campaign in ..Tibet.., ..East Turkestan.., and other occupied areas. ..China.. is trying to use international funds to develop ....Tibet.... as a resource extraction colony and consolidate control over the region. Foreign investment in Chinese companies gives legitimacy to ..China..'s colonization of ....Tibet...., and the exploitative projects they fund do not benefit Tibetans.

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10. The world community has done very little to address the core issue of ..China..'s illegal occupation of ....Tibet..... ....China.... represents a gigantic market and cheap labor force, and its associated businesses have such a strong lobby that politicians are reluctant to take any substantive measures against the Chinese government. Since western countries adopted policies of so-called "constructive engagement" with ..China.. in the 1990s, the human rights situation in ....Tibet.... has drastically deteriorated. In order for this to change, world governments must take decisive action to pressure ..China.. into respecting human rights and ending its occupation of ....Tibet.....

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