can i get a yes or no, please?

I do not usually write about politics or controversial subjects on this website because I never feel like I know enough to have an informed opinion. Occasionally, I will direct my readers' attention to an NPR story or a newspaper article that I feel does a good job of expertly saying what I would like to. Today again I will tread softly on an ongoing issue, that of China and Tibet.

The Free Tibet movement has been around for quite some time, but it has really come to the forefront these past couple of weeks as the beginning of the Beijing Olympics draws near. Tibet continues to claim it has the right to be independent and free of human rights violations by the Chinese, and the Chinese continue to claim that Tibet has always been under Chinese control and the Tibetans are promoting violent riots which hurt both Tibetans and Chinese.

I will not overtly pass judgment here, but I would direct you to an NPR piece this morning in which Steve Inskeep interviews the Chinese ambassador to the U.S. Note that Mr. Inskeep asks Mr. Zhou the same question four times, and each time the question is ignored. Does Mr. Zhou, and by association the Chinese government, think that the Tibetans have any legitimate reasons for being upset? It seems that we will never know.