Response from the SA Friends of Tibet

Donovan Roebert from the South African Friends of Tibet responded to my shortened article in Rapport. He takes me to task for presenting the Chinese propaganda without commenting on it, and for showing some bias towards the Chinese view of history. 

I'm just glad I could play a small part in letting his side of the argument be heard, by people who normally wouldn't have known about China's misrepresentations. In fact, I agree with him on almost every point. The parts of my article that were edited for space would, I believe, have made my position clearer. And yet I thought it was good for people to be confronted with the Chinese position for a change. 

I especially support his position that China saying the Dalai Lama would return to a feudal system is pure nonsense. I'm not sure what relevance any discussion of Tibet's pre-1950 system has for the current realities of Tibet, but I do know that supporters of a free Tibet should at least be aware of it in order to be prepared for that specific charge from China.

Read Donovan Roebert's article in Die Rapport (Afrikaans).