Beijing 2008?

China, the rising star of Asia, will host the 29th modern Olympiad later this year in Beijing. The Olympiad is often viewed by the host nation as a chance to polish its media image and receive an economic boost.

A communist dictatorship undergoing agonizing quasi-capitalist reforms, China has functioned for at least a decade as the factory of world industry. In a global marketplace, labor costs are competed to the lowest common denominator. Chinese laborers by the hundreds of millions fill that need. The Chinese economy has exploded in the past decade, and a hefty chunk of the profits have been spent on military might. China is now a major player, though frequently excoriated by western media for it support of repressive regimes around world.

This week, riots flare in Tibet.





Chinese military forces roll in.

What happens next? The Chinese government in recent decades has shown its willingness to assert control despite public opinion. Tibetan Buddhists are the darlings of the western media. The tension is mounting.

What about the big picture? In the next few decades, China's rise may reach parity with America's decline. What then?

By the way, I don't trust anyone that answers to the title "his holiness":



P.S. Here's a short filmclip from the year 1959, when the Dalai Llama, leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, ran away with his tail between his legs: