Tibet: A familiar path

It's with nothing short of abject horror that we've been watching the Chinese government's cruel crackdown on Tibetan protesters.

China's response to the protests has been swift, violent and reminiscent of what we witnessed in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in September. That's when the military junta used similar means to squelch protests, doing as the Chinese are now doing and banning foreign media from the region. Of course, within days of the media blackout, satellite images surfaced showing destroyed, burned villages. And if the official Chinese news agency says 19 have been killed and 623 (civilians and police) have been injured in the riots, we can feel confident the actual casualty toll is much higher.

While there's never a right time to violate human rights, we're at a loss as to why China is pursuing this brutish line at this precarious point in its foreign relations. It's still reeling from the black eye received from the tainted, poorly monitored goods -- toys, medications, pet food, toothpaste and much more -- it's been exporting to the West. And with the upcoming Beijing Olympics, China needs to let the world community know that it is making progress on its alarming human rights record.

Instead, China is blaming the dalai lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader (who will be in Seattle in April), for the anti-government protests -- a poor strategy. The international community has shown little in the way of support for China's actions, instead asking that the country allow news reports out of Tibet and calling for an end to the violence. China's official news agency reports, "Countries around the world have expressed their support to the Chinese government on its handling of the recent riots." Sure, from countries such as Zambia, Syria and Mongolia.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't among those supporters, and according to The Washington Post, President Bush is privately pressing China to ease up on the Tibetans. Diplomacy is great, but if that doesn't yield results, is Bush prepared to call for an Olympic boycott? If not, what's next?