Final Project for World Religions

1. Self-Immolation of
Tibetan Monks
How does Western Media Portray the
Chinese-Tibetan Conflict?

2. Overview
As an overall theme in the articles
that I looked at on this topic, there were two
major topics that came up in all of the
articles. One topic was the conflict between
Tibet and China and what side the article
was taking, and the second topic was are
these self-immolations religiously or
politically driven.

3. Tibet vs. China
Pro-Tibet
This topic came up in very single one
of the articles I looked at. For the most
part, most of the articles sides with the
Tibetans and their struggle against the
Chinese. The articles siding with the
Tibetans always eluded to the stricter rules
and regulations regarding their religion.
Most articles stated that the Tibetans that
are doing the self-immolations are giving
themselves a voice in a country where there
voice is normally not heard.

4. Tibet vs. China
Pro-China
There was one article that I came
across that seemed to be on China’s side in
this argument. They bashed the Tibetans
for just trying to get some pity from
westerners and trying to get publicity for
their people. The article said that they were
trying to get money from westerners so that
they could do something physically against
the Chinese government.

5. As seen in the picture, an
elderly women is hanging
This shows the severity of the
a poster of monks that
Chinese government’s actions.
have self-immolated
Tibet wants nothing to do with
themselves along side a
China.
sing that states, “TIBET is
not part of CHINA.”

6. Religion vs. Politics
In all the articles that I read, I couldn’t
find a clear argument on this topic. Almost all of
the articles said something along the lines of
that immolating one self is the best sacrifice one
can give, but then in another paragraph, they
would say something to the effect of, the
Tibetans want their religious and political
officials back from exile and they want their
rights back. No article made it clear as to
whether the reason behind these self-
immolations was religious or political.

7. Tibetan self-immolations

8. Dalai Lama
A couple of articles brought the Dalai
Lama into the picture. The articles that
referenced him used his views of the Chinese
government to help the Tibetans. The Dalai
Lama thinks the Chinese government is too
strict and should let him back into his own
country, but he knows that won’t happen unless
there is a big change in the government. He
sees the big change in the government coming
within the next 20 years. The Dalai Lama has
no hard feelings towards the Chinese
government, he just wants all the violence to
stop, but to do it in a peaceful manner.

9. Conclusion
In Western media, the conflict be Tibet
and China has been widely covered by multiple
sources, and these sources tend to side with
Tibet and their struggle to free themselves from
the persecution of the Chinese government.
Western media does not know the reasoning
behind the self-immolations, but they try to keep
their interpretations pretty vague when it comes
to eh question of why? Western media has
helped bring this issue into the lives of everyday
people and is giving good information in a
variety of ways. Western media is helping this
conflict by reporting what they know.

10. Sources
O http://www.metro.co.uk/news/897297-
shocking-self-immolation-on-the-rise-in-
tibet-for-desperate-protesters
O http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendan
oneill2/100154077/are-tibetans-burning-
themselves-to-evoke-the-further-pity-of-
their-western-sympathisers/
O http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may
/12/dalai-lama-chinese-poison-
plot?newsfeed=true

11. Sources
O http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/4fb3db53b7445
c2f54000000/china-tv-blames-dalai-lama-for-tibet-
immolations
O http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/tibet-self-
immolation-wave_n_1396443.html
O http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/23/world/asia/in-self-
immolations-signs-of-new-turmoil-in-
tibet.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
O http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kyle-scott/adam-yauch-
tibet_b_1507607.html
O http://jamaica-
gleaner.com/gleaner/20120517/cleisure/cleisure3.html
O http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bianca-jagger/tibet-
matters_b_1514089.html