China fires tear gas on monks protesting in Tibet

Reuters: China fires tear gas on monks protesting in Tibet

I'm disappointed, but not surprised. Many had hoped that having the Olympics in China would help boost the human rights issue. The theory was that in order to improve it's global reputation, it would clean up it's human rights image. China's definition of "clean up" means sweeping ugly issues under the rug, rather than addressing them. Increased global attention has only resulted in on-the-surface changes on human rights issues. In essence, officials will be all smiles and happy faces to the camera, but the underlying problems of oppressive government will still remain.

The world media has slowly been painting the picture of China as the next economic superpower, especially with the United States facing it's current economic problems. I believe this to be true. China is changing, adapting, and progressing at a rapid pace on an economic front. In stark contrast, progress is non-existent on the political front. In fact, increased economic power has given China's government more sway and influence than ever before. I've tried to be optimistic in believing that Chinese government will one day embrace social progress, but these recent developments are not very encouraging.

Out with the old. In with the new.

I haven't touched this site in a long time. I'm clearing out all the vacation photos from 2 years ago to make way for a series of blogs about the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. I have no doubt that Beijing will be the centre of attention this year for a variety of reasons.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Photos: Stone Forest in Yunnan

These are my photos of the Stone Forest in Yunnan province. I've never seen anything like this. Very unusual rock formations. Some of them resemble animal shapes, such as the 3rd photo which people say look like a bird's head. I am told that soldiers used to live in these rock formations as a natural fortress. They would be protected from invaders, and any who dared venture into the formations would be ambushed easily. If you wander inside, you can see tables and beds crudely made from the natural rock, which were used by the soldiers of ancient times.