Silly China

China, China, China... What a pickle they have gotten themselves into. There is a considerable uprising occurring in the Tibetan region of southwest China, and fatalities have ensued. China has responded with force, sending hundreds of anti-riot troops into the region. The Dalai Lama has been getting a lot of attention with his calls to investigate the matter. The Chinese government is very annoyed right now for two main reasons. The first reason is that riots/protests can often spread, thus increasing the likelihood of China "accidentally" killing more people, which does not bode well for their reputation abroad. The other (and much more significant) reason is the ability of this situation to hamper China's biggest focus in the world right now; the Olympics. It's quite phenomenal the amount of stock that the PRC has in the Games. Billions have been spent, thousands of people have been uprooted, factories have been closed and relocated to Tianjin (because of pollution), and the domestic media has been closely monitored to ensure only positive press is released concerning the games.

Well, knowing that the Tibet issue could cause an international uproar, China has gone into super-censor mode, shutting down YouTube and any PRC-based website critical of the government. Censorship was already intense in China, but now it's just awful. Foreigners are currently banned from entering Tibet's capital, Lhasa, for their own "safety" according to the PRC. The world may never know how many people will be killed after this is all said and done, but murmurs and whispers of an Olympic boycott have begun. I don't think it will happen however, at most there will be a minor boycott of the opening ceremony. Something to watch though.