Bombs Still Kill

Bang

LUANG PRABANG, LAOS “The cluster bombs still hang in the trees near the Ho Chi Minh trail. They kill on average thirty people per year.” My guide, Bang, a former Buddhist monk tells me. “In 1968 and 1969 the U.S. Air force conducted 200 sorties a day — the United State’s so called ‘secret war’ in Laos — not very secret now as many countries are involved in the cleanup. We don’t like to focus on the past. It only creates anger and resentment. Our schools hardly mention it. Since the arrest of the once CIA backed Hmong leader General Vang Pao in San Francisco, the country has been at peace, and that’s the way we want to keep it. Our communist government is doing a good job and has turned the focus from the civil unrest to creating economic opportunities. It’s not perfect though, two years ago our prime minister got the boot on corruption charges involving a railway the Chinese wanted to build through Laos to Thailand. We may be communist, but we have free elections every four years and ever since 1992 when the new communist government took over on the death of Prime Minister Kaison, the people of Laos have had their property rights restored. Kaison was not a bad person. He had the difficult task fighting the CIA backed Hmong and the Royalty family in a civil war that lasted from 1954 to 1975. The Hmong insurgency, however, moved to the jungles and didn’t end until the arrest of General Vang Pao. Today we’re communist in name only.”

Tibetan Buddhism

Tiger Jump Gorge

TIGER JUMP GORGE, CHINA “As long as we follow some simple rules I can tell you about Tibet. First, we must not talk in public. Second, you may not reveal the source of your information. And third, when referring to the Delhi Lama, we should use the code HH, short for ‘His Holiness.’ Remember also that they monitor your emails and it’s not a good idea to search for related information over the Internet because they will then be able to track where you are. If we follow these simple rules, we shouldn’t get into trouble.” “Okay, I promise,” I say. And so my newly acquired Tibetan Buddhist friend begins.

“Contrary to what you find in the history books, before 1945, Tibet was never a part of China. Since the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet some 2000 years ago, Tibet has always been at peace. Even when Genghis Khan conquered this area, the Tibetans did not put up a fight. After the defeat of Japan, who had occupied parts of China, but never Tibet, China decided to take advantage of Tibet’s lack of a modern army and annex it. At the time Tibet had only 100 soldiers and couldn’t possibly put up any resistance. What China encountered, however, was a strong tradition of self-governance through Tibetan Buddhism where HH is both the spiritual and civil head of the state. We believe that HH is the fourteenth incarnation of the ‘Buddha of Compassion’ and that his word is the same as coming from the Buddha himself.

The Kidnapped Panchen Lama

In addition to HH, we have another Lama who is the Panchen Lama. The Panchen Lama is also a reincarnation — but who he’s an incarnation of, I’m not sure. If you like, I can call my friend who knows these things and ask him.” “Yes let’s do that,” I say. He calls someone on his cell phone. They talk for fifteen minutes or so, and then returns, “Sorry, he says it’s too dangerous to talk about these things.” “What! — Too dangerous to talk about who the Panchen Lama is a reincarnation of?” “Yes, too dangerous.” He hesitates. “Ah… If you remember our rules though, I can tell you that our current Panchen Lama is the eleventh Panchen Lama and that we believe the Chinese government kidnapped him 22 years ago when the Panchen Lama was only six. The Chinese then set out to deceive us by creating another Panchen Lama and saying he is eleventh Panchen Lama. It’s his picture you see in the temples. Nobody knows what happened to the real Panchen Lama. He may be alive or dead. We don’t know! If the Panchen Lama is dead, the Lamas (the Tibetan Buddha high priests all of whom are in India) need to know where he is so that they can divine who the next Panchen Lama is. To complicate matters, HH is 75 and when he dies the Chinese government says they will determine who’s the next HH, and that runs counter to our beliefs. Because of this, most Tibetans believe that when HH dies, we will go to war with China. Young Tibetans certainly want this and believe the Indian government will provide us with arms to fight the Chinese. 

The Chinese should be concerned. Tibetan Buddhism is more than a religion. It is also the political force in Tibet. HH has said that he does not want independence and I believe him. He doesn’t want to see his people killed and he’s pragmatic enough to know that Tibet is no match for China. Instead he wants the “Middle Way” where Tibet has political and religious autonomy like Hong Kong and Shanghai but is still part of China. The Chinese government doesn’t want any of that and has tried to influence the situation in Tibet, by creating this bogus Panchen Lama, by falsely accusing the Tibetan Buddhists of instigating trouble, by offering incentives to Han Chinese to emigrate to Tibet, by carefully controlling what information goes in and out of Tibet, and finally by making it difficult for us to even talk about Tibet."

Tiger Jump Gorge Photo Album

A Chinese Dissident

Censorship

LIJIANG, CHINA “Where are you from?” a young man on the side of the street asks. It is the auspicious beginnings of a lengthy conversation with a dissident that moves from the street corner to a dark corner in a nearby café. “I can’t tell you my name or the party I’m affiliated with. It’s too dangerous. If you write something you can only use my English name, ‘King.’ A couple years ago when I was studying at Beijing University, I got caught participating in our party’s online chat forum. The police hauled me in and wouldn’t release me until I signed a statement that I wouldn’t say anything bad about the communist government any more. What a bunch of crap! They told me I couldn’t leave the country either and every couple months they came to my apartment to check on me. I came to Lijiang to get away from them. When I traveled here, I couldn’t use the train or plane because I would have had to use my ID and then they would have known where I was. So I traveled by bus and bike. Now, they don’t know where I am and I have a house in the mountains that has a secret hiding place. They’ll never find me there.

“Incredible,” I say. “I keep running into people that are happy with their lives here. “Yes, people in China think they have it good. They have more things than they ever had before. But they’re only happy because they’re comparing to what they didn’t have in the past and not to what could be or to what other countries have. In China, 80% of the wealth is owned by 20% of the people and 90% of the 20% are those in power and that’s fucking bad! Our party wants to change that. We want democracy. We want to choose our leaders. We want more transparency in government. We want a bill of rights.” “Are you familiar with Liu Xiaobo?” I ask. “Yes, I know about him and many others like him. I know he won the Nobel Peace Prize. I know he’s in prison and even where he’s in prison, but I can’t say more. My party has ways of keeping me informed and we sometimes get information out to others by writing things on bills. People don’t throw money away, you know, and so that’s often a good way to circulate news.”

“I’d like to see your blog,” he says. “I can use my laptop computer. It’s old but it still works.” “It’s blocked,” I say. “Let me try.” He types in the URL, “Yes, it is blocked, but I have another way.” He types away, we wait, he sighs, “Ah, It’s really blocked. Okay, I know another way,” he laughs; now enjoying the challenge. He turns off Windows and types some commands in DOS. The Windows screen comes back up. He types in my blog address. We wait a minute. “There it is, my blog! Wow, where did you get the software to do that?” “In college, from the Falungong. They developed it and are now distributing it for free. It accesses a server in the United States.” “Can the government track this?” “They can, but the risk is low because there’s too much activity for them to do much about it. Now I’ve bookmarked your blog and can access it anytime.” “Do many people use this program?” “No, but when more people know about it, they will. What do you think? What do Americans think? Do we have a chance?” “I don’t know.”

Lijiang Photo Album

Liu Xiabo

Liu Xiabo

DALI, CHINA “My blog is blocked,” I remind Mei. “Yes, that happens sometimes.” “Are you okay with that?” “Yes, I think so, because it’s necessary. There are many groups that want to cause trouble in China.” “But why my blog?” “I don’t know.” “Why, Bloomberg.com? That’s a business news site.” “I don’t know. Maybe they had trouble with that site.” “Do you think you have access to enough information to make informed decisions?” “I have enough information. I’m not interested in politics. I just want to live a good life.” “Then, I’m curious, do you know why the Tibetan monks are protesting?” “They want to create trouble for the government. They want their own country, but Tibet is and always has been a part of China.” “Did you hear about Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner?” “No.” “Then you don’t know that he’s in jail for proposing a Chinese Bill of Rights.” “No, I didn’t know that.” “Have you heard of the Tiananmen Square incident?” “Only from tourists, who always ask me that question?” “What’s the status of homosexuals in China?” “I don’t know. Why do you ask?” “Well, do you know any homosexuals?” “No.” “Have you ever seen a homosexual?” “I think once on television.” “You participate in a chat forum on Chinese and Japanese relations. You say, that everyone on the forum hates the Japanese. How do you know that dissenting opinions aren’t being blocked?” “Ah… I don’t think so.” “How do you know, that some of the opinions being expressed aren’t coming from the Chinese government?” “Ah… I don’t know. People really don’t concern themselves with these issues.” 

Wild Swans

Three Pagodas

DALI, CHINA As we explore the three pagodas and their successive Buddhist temples on the hillside overlooking Erthai Lake in Dali, I ask Mei, “Have you read the book, ‘Wild Swans’ by Jung Chang?” “No, I haven’t. Other tourists have told me about the book, so I’ve looked for it at the library and the bookstore, but haven’t been able to find it”. Later in town, I notice a bookstore. “Maybe they have the ‘Wild Swans’?” “Yes, maybe, that bookstore is mostly for tourists.” Mei asks the clerk. She takes us to the second floor where they keep a fairly large selection of English language books and goes straight to the book and pulls it from the shelf. As Mei translates, I ask the clerk, “Do many people buy this book?” “Yes, it’s our best selling book.” “Who buys it?” “Tourists.” “How about Chinese?” “No. Never.” “Is it available in Chinese?” “No, only English.” “Do you want to buy it, Mei?” “No, it costs too much. Now that I know that it’s available, I know where to get it.” “Ask the clerk if they have the ‘Rape of Nanking’ by Iris Chang?” Mei translates, “No, they don’t, not in English or Chinese.” As we leave the bookstore, Mei comments, “I’ve heard about this book. I want to read it. The Japanese did terrible things and still don’t admit to it. The Japanese children are taught lies about what happened. I participate in an online chat forum where we talk about the Japanese problem and everybody hates them. But we’re no longer afraid of them. They say Diaoyu islands belong to them. They belong to us. Everyone on the forum thinks we’re going to war with Japan. Nobody thinks the United States will help the Japanese. They are our worst enemies. We shouldn’t do business with them at all.

Dali Photo Album

Tell Her You Love Her

Mei

DALI, CHINA In Kunming, Ju Lian, and I check out the jade jewelry. She confides, “My husband never gives me a gift, not even a card on Valentine’s day. He is not romantic. He never says he loves me. He tells me, ‘I’m not your lover. I’m your husband.’ When he makes love, it’s very quick — too quick. I asked my mother if this was right. My mother told me, ‘this is normal. Chinese men don’t know how to be romantic.’ I think most Chinese women are disappointed with their husbands. It’s a part of our tradition — our culture. We can’t do anything about it.” Later in Dali, I ask Mei, my male guide, “Have you ever told your wife that you love her or given her a bouquet of?” “No, never. Men don’t do that sort of thing.” “Do you know that Chinese women are not happy with Chinese men?” “Yes, I know, but it’s our tradition. It’s something we can’t change.” “Would it hurt you, if today, you bought your wife a bouquet of flowers and told her you love her?” “I can’t do that. People will laugh at me. It will be very embarrassing.” “Do you think your wife would like it?” “Maybe.” “Then, I’ll buy the flowers for you.” “No, I don’t want you to. It’s not right.” “Look, they’re selling flowers on the corner. I’m going to buy a bouquet and you’re going to give them to your wife.” “No, don’t!” I persist. Finally Mei relents. “But I’m going to buy them, not you.” “Okay, I think that’s only right.” As the lady cuts eleven long stem roses, Mei relaxes and smiles, “I’ve never done anything like this before. It might actually be a good idea. My wife will be so surprised.” “But don’t forget to tell her you love her,” I say. “I won’t,” he laughs.