Tibet. If not a country.

This is an open letter to China - if it is possible to write such a letter.

When I traveled to China (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Hong Kong) in 2001, I found the towering density of the country breath taking. One country, but another world, filled with cultural diversity, coordinated for production.

In Beijing, the Chinese New Year celebration had just finished, and the coal which fueled the city had created a layer of lingering smoke over the city which I could see from the plane, along with a section of the Great Wall, on approach to landing.

But the city was very alive, and on my daily walk to Tienanmen square the streets were filled with a busing, bicycling and walking intelligent mass. The smell was fried dough, ancient soil, foggy coal mist, rotting exotic fruit, crumbling dusty bricks, and occasionally a thick chemical sewage. An economy alive; innovation, ingenuity, and perseverance in the hands and faces of the dozens of ethnicities converging on the capital. Some knew the dragon was awaking, but others simply knew the historic and vast capital to be the center of the world.

Regardless, the grass was painted green in preparation while the city was competing to be the site for the 2008 Olympics. More than national pride, or economic opportunity, I believe China knew it meant opening its doors in a way that might have no historical precedent.

Cut to several months later in my trip. I arrive in Kathmandu, some weeks after being in Darjeeling, to wake up to news of the assassination of the King and his family. In the middle of riots, I visited a contact there, who happened to be Tibetan. They invited me to stay with them during the strikes and riots that followed the massive funeral processions as that country dealt with change. During the stay, I got to know their experiences, and how they've set up new lives since leaving Tibet.

Moving from my experiences to my perspective on current events - clearly, China is working now to protect its image. In the United States we have had access to different stories and information than many in China, and Tibet. China wants the world to understand that Tibet is historically part of China, and strategically critical - and therefore they can not compromise or tolerate what they see as a threat. As far as nations go, this is normal and accepted practice. As far as nations go....

The Tibetan perspective is easier for Westerners to understand. If you are reading this, I will assume you either have with you a good amount of education and understanding for the Tibetan experience (and therefore don't need a further explanation), or that you are of a more "Chinese" perspective. My intention is to avoid propaganda and fear mongering, to appeal to what is best in us all as people, and briefly offer a perspective. My perspective is simply of a person - not a nation or nationality, not a religion or a ethnicity.

What is a person if not defined by their nation, their financial status, or by their religion?

If China can answer this western question, perhaps they can see the issue of Tibet from a more western perspective. Perhaps I don't represent a western perspective. Regardless, what do the exiled Tibetans ask for? What do the rioting Tibetans need? If these people are your countrymen, what are they asking for that China could not accomplish?