Deep-rooted Tensions Surface in Tibet Unrest

Jeffrey Bader joined NewsHour to discuss the recent uptick in unrest across Tibet following protests against Chinese government rule of the region.

MARGARET WARNER: And, Jeffrey Bader, would you say that that was the spark, this anniversary, that then ignited some very deep tensions?

JEFFREY BADER: The anniversary was the spark, but we need to understand that there are long-term resentments and unhappiness on the part of Tibetans about the way they are ruled by the Chinese. Those resentments are political; they are religious; and they are economic.

Political in that Tibetans traditionally ran Tibet until 1950, and now the man who runs Tibet is the party secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, a Han Chinese.

Religious in that the key figure in Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, is in exile in India. That would be like the Roman Catholic Church without the pope.

And economic, because of the benefits of economic construction and modernization that have come to Tibet…

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