Opinion: In today’s pages: Turkey, Tibet, tumbling, twittering
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Kishore Mahbubani of the National University of Singapore explains why China sees Tibet quite differently than the West:
Chinese history records dominion over Tibet as far back as the 13th century. China’s control has ebbed and flowed -- but this is equally true in many other parts of China. Central control by the capital has never been consistent, shifting with the strength of the central government. But this much is certain: China has been in control of most of its territories longer than some Western nations have existed. More important, the Chinese recall that the latest efforts to separate Tibet from China came as recently as the 1940s and 1950s, when British and U.S. agents were seen to be encouraging Tibetan independence while the new People’s Republic was still weak.... Virtually no Chinese believe that Western governments have a strictly moral interest in Tibet. They are convinced that their efforts are only the latest efforts to dismember or derail China.
Author Carolyn See navigates Santa Monica sans car, and columnist Joel Stein finds a place for thoughts that aren’t even well-formed enough to be blogposts: the tumble and the twitter.
The editorial board encourages Congress to extend unemployment benefits, urges California to fight proposed federal fuel emissions rules, and says there are small signs of a thaw in Turkey-Armenia relations.
Readers discuss McCain’s disability pension and whether it raises questions about his ability to serve as president. L.A.’s Anthony Filosa says, ‘I’d like to remind The Times that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s significant disabilities did not affect his ability to successfully lead this country through some of our most tumultuous times and be remembered as one of our greatest presidents.’
And Long Beach’s Barbara Hubbs hopes that ‘McCain is donating that money to the disabled veterans who were not able to put their lives back together.’