April 3

Through My Eyes

Saturday April 3

(We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he describes the beginnings of conflict with the occupying Chinese.)

"At the same time, scurrilous songs were sung about General Chiang Chin-Wu that made fun of his gold watch. And when it was discovered that many of his officers wore costly fur linings under their outwardly similar uniforms, Tibetans' contempt knew no bounds. This infuriated the Chinese authorities, mostly I suspect because although they knew they were being laughed at, they could not understand what was being said. This hurt their pride. It was tantamount to losing face, the worst thing that can happen to a Chinese. The eventual result was an extremely amusing incident with General Chiang. One day he came to see me and demanded that I issue a proclamation banning any criticism of the Chinese, whether in songs or on posters, since these were ' reactionary activities'.

However, despite new laws prohibiting opposition to Chinese, notices began to appear in the streets denouncing the presence of the Chinese forces. A popular resistance movement was formed. Finally, a six-point memorandum was drawn up and sent directly to General Chiang listing the people's grievances and demanding the removal of the garrison. This infuriated him. He suggested that the document was the work of 'imperialists' and accused the two Prime Ministers of leading a conspiracy. Tension mounted. Thinking that they could bypass Lobsang Tashi and Lukhangwa, the Chinese began to approach me directly. At first I refused to receive them without the two men being present. But when on one occasion Lobsang Tashi said something that particularly inflamed him, Chiang actually moved as if to strike my Prime Minister. Without thinking, I ran between the two men, yelling at them to stop at once. I was terrified. I had never seen adults behave like that. Thereafter, I consented to see the two factions separately.

The situation between the Chinese leaders and my two Prime Ministers continued to deteriorate as more and more officials and bureaucrats began to arrive from China. These men, far from allowing the Tibetan Government to look after its own affairs, as was stipulated in the Seventeen-Point 'Agreement', interfered incessantly. General Chiang called endless series of meetings between them and the Kashag, mainly with a view to discussing the permanent accommodation of these officials, his soldiers and their many thousand camels and other pack animals. Lobsang Tashi and Lukhangwa found it impossible to make him understand that not only were these demands unreasonable, but they were not feasible.

When the General asked for a second disbursement of 2,000 tons of barley, they had to explain that no such quantity of food existed. Already the Tibetan population of the city lived in fear of scarcity and what little grain remained in the government warehouses could only feed the army for another two months at most. They told him that there could be no possible reason for wanting to maintain such large forces in Lhasa. If their purpose was to defend the nation, they should be sent to the borders. Only the officials need remain in the capital, with perhaps a regiment or so for escort. The General took this quietly and answered politely, so they told me , but he did nothing.

After their suggestion that these troops be sent elsewhere, the two Prime Ministers became increasingly unpopular with General Chiang. To begin with he reserved his anger for Lobsang Tashi, the elder of the two, who knew some Chinese. This irritated the General and he was quick to accuse the monk of every imaginable crime, whilst simultaneously praising Lukhangwa, whom he saw as a potential ally.

It turned out, however, Lukhangwa was the man with the greater depth of character, despite his youth, and he never once tried to hide his true feelings from the General. Even on a personal level, he displayed the utmost contempt for the man. On one occasion, I remember being told, Chiang asked him casually how much tea he drank. 'It depends upon the quality of the tea,' Lukhangwa replied. I laughed when I heard this but realised that the situation between the two men must be very bad. "

( Tibetans that put up posters denouncing the Chinese government now face immediate imprisonment and brutal treatment as you already know of course. I promise to add more tomorrow...)

*( please click here to read of the day with me )

* This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Through my eyes

( Please see my spinning for you!)

( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I spent the whole day up in the Grove bringing food to the trees. I've been using a rope to lower Mom's wagon down the first part of the hill because the load was much heavier and the ground more tricky to move over. Working two as one pulling strongly together we've almost completed one side of the Grove! There's much to go though. After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual then returned to our studio to put up the pages. You'll notice the usual changes. It's time to work on the monthly pages again beautiful one! I'm going to try to take a picture of your Medlar tree tomorrow. I'm going to put the pages on our infosite;I'll put this up so we can rest.

And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow

my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright

long dark mane in sunlight

so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)


	Through My Eyes Saturday April 3 (We continue to listen to the Dalai Lama as he describes the beginnings of conflict with the occupying Chinese.) "At the same time, scurrilous songs were sung about General Chiang Chin-Wu that made fun of his gold watch. And when it was discovered that many of his officers wore costly fur linings under their outwardly similar uniforms, Tibetans' contempt knew no bounds. This infuriated the Chinese authorities, mostly I suspect because although they knew they were being laughed at, they could not understand what was being said. This hurt their pride. It was tantamount to losing face, the worst thing that can happen to a Chinese. The eventual result was an extremely amusing incident with General Chiang. One day he came to see me and demanded that I issue a proclamation banning any criticism of the Chinese, whether in songs or on posters, since these were ' reactionary activities'. However, despite new laws prohibiting opposition to Chinese, notices began to appear in the streets denouncing the presence of the Chinese forces. A popular resistance movement was formed. Finally, a six-point memorandum was drawn up and sent directly to General Chiang listing the people's grievances and demanding the removal of the garrison. This infuriated him. He suggested that the document was the work of 'imperialists' and accused the two Prime Ministers of leading a conspiracy. Tension mounted. Thinking that they could bypass Lobsang Tashi and Lukhangwa, the Chinese began to approach me directly. At first I refused to receive them without the two men being present. But when on one occasion Lobsang Tashi said something that particularly inflamed him, Chiang actually moved as if to strike my Prime Minister. Without thinking, I ran between the two men, yelling at them to stop at once. I was terrified. I had never seen adults behave like that. Thereafter, I consented to see the two factions separately. The situation between the Chinese leaders and my two Prime Ministers continued to deteriorate as more and more officials and bureaucrats began to arrive from China. These men, far from allowing the Tibetan Government to look after its own affairs, as was stipulated in the Seventeen-Point 'Agreement', interfered incessantly. General Chiang called endless series of meetings between them and the Kashag, mainly with a view to discussing the permanent accommodation of these officials, his soldiers and their many thousand camels and other pack animals. Lobsang Tashi and Lukhangwa found it impossible to make him understand that not only were these demands unreasonable, but they were not feasible. When the General asked for a second disbursement of 2,000 tons of barley, they had to explain that no such quantity of food existed. Already the Tibetan population of the city lived in fear of scarcity and what little grain remained in the government warehouses could only feed the army for another two months at most. They told him that there could be no possible reason for wanting to maintain such large forces in Lhasa. If their purpose was to defend the nation, they should be sent to the borders. Only the officials need remain in the capital, with perhaps a regiment or so for escort. The General took this quietly and answered politely, so they told me , but he did nothing. After their suggestion that these troops be sent elsewhere, the two Prime Ministers became increasingly unpopular with General Chiang. To begin with he reserved his anger for Lobsang Tashi, the elder of the two, who knew some Chinese. This irritated the General and he was quick to accuse the monk of every imaginable crime, whilst simultaneously praising Lukhangwa, whom he saw as a potential ally. It turned out, however, Lukhangwa was the man with the greater depth of character, despite his youth, and he never once tried to hide his true feelings from the General. Even on a personal level, he displayed the utmost contempt for the man. On one occasion, I remember being told, Chiang asked him casually how much tea he drank. 'It depends upon the quality of the tea,' Lukhangwa replied. I laughed when I heard this but realised that the situation between the two men must be very bad. " ( Tibetans that put up posters denouncing the Chinese government now face immediate imprisonment and brutal treatment as you already know of course. I promise to add more tomorrow...) ( please click here to read of the day with me ) This is from the book Freedom in Exile The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama by Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet. Through my eyes ( Please see my spinning for you!) ( Tahshi Deleh gentle one! Kehrahng kusu debo yinpeh? I spent the whole day up in the Grove bringing food to the trees. I've been using a rope to lower Mom's wagon down the first part of the hill because the load was much heavier and the ground more tricky to move over. Working two as one pulling strongly together we've almost completed one side of the Grove! There's much to go though. After that I rested by your Medlar tree as usual then returned to our studio to put up the pages. You'll notice the usual changes. It's time to work on the monthly pages again beautiful one! I'm going to try to take a picture of your Medlar tree tomorrow. I'm going to put the pages on our infosite;I'll put this up so we can rest. And so, as always we'll continue two as one on to tomorrow my one gentle beautiful patient swift dream bright long dark mane in sunlight so for now I bid goodnight...Simjah Nahngo!)