Heated Action in CHINA!!

I am currently sitting on my bed typing this blog while police sirens are going off in the background every now and then. My apartment has been quarantined off and we have been told that we are not allowed to leave are apartments. Earlier this morning, youtube.com was blocked and banned by the Chinese government in fear of what could be posted about some of the ways the government has been reacting out here, in regards to the Tibet and China conflicts. I have never experienced anything like this, and I must say I feel more excitement than I do fear. I know it's a bit ignorant and naive of me to be reacting the way I am, but it's just that I came to China looking for excitement and adventure and to be exposed to a culture that was nothing like America. I felt sheltered back home and understood that I didn't get life the way other people around the world did. There is controversy and passion about greater things outside of our self-involved lives that Americans are censored from. I am finally getting that part of the deal and am exposed to a reality that newspapers and articles could never even capture a fraction of. This is why I came out here. Basically, this is what's going on:

There is a certain region of China that used to be a part of Tibet but is currently claimed as "non-tibetan" territory despite the fact that the community is basically all Tibetan people and culture. The Dalai Lama has been exiled from China for speaking out on this issue. The reason the Tibetan community is so against the Chinese influence in these regions (Lahsa, ghansu, xinghai, etc.) is because the Chinese government is sending its native "Han Chinese" people into those regions and destroying the Tibetan culture. The Chinese feel that this is good for Tibet because they are introducing this "uncivilized" community to commodity and capitalism and creating jobs that will eventually economically build these areas. However, the jobs and profits are going to the Han Chinese people and the Tibetan people are not receiving any of the benefits. Also, the presence of the Hans Chinese people are destroying certain cultural sites and features that used to be a part of highly sacred grounds. The regions being destroyed are very important landmarks for the Tibetan culture. The Dalai Lama has said that China has been inflicting "cultural genocide" on the Tibetan community.

So basically, the Tibetans are finally protesting against the Chinese government which is a VERY controversial issue. They are doing so, currently, because of the Olympics and the fact that their issues will get more coverage right now since everyone's eyes are on the Olympics in China. Protesting in China is not like protesting in America. Their have been mass retaliations in China's history for protesting. Tiananmen Square is a FINE example of the outcomes of such activity. A couple days ago 80 people were killed in the Tibetan regions and people have been gone missing from being taken away for interrogation. Today, the Chinese media claimed that only 12 people were killed and that there weren't even guns present at the protests (on the Chinese government part)...which is not true at all. China has been covering up a lot of the information about these protests and it has been really difficult for us Americans to find information. We have all had to do a lot of searching on the internet (which is censored out here) to find the information we have right now.

Our program has a trip schedule for April 17th to go and visit Xinghai and Ghansu regions of Tibet. Our director informed us that there is a possibility that this trip could be cancelled. I am hoping that it isn't. The dean of the school came to visit our classroom today because he wanted to make sure we were safe and that we stayed outside of the protests. The safety of foreigners, apparenty, is being highly stressed right now. We are to be protected more than the natives, for obvious reasons. I was looking out my window today and noticed that our school gate had been roped off because of protests that were going on my campus. Our University is different from others because it has a high population of Tibetans and other minorities. We will be experiencing many demonstrations within the next couple days. I hope to have more interesting things to report in the future. In the meantime, I will try to focus on my daily activities and try to secure a teaching position for English, on the side.