Marginalization of Tibetans By China

Last week, the Mercedes-Benz Instagram account posted a picture of one of its cars. Set against the beautiful backdrop of a shoreline, the picture featured the E-Class Coupe model. Above the car read a quote from the Dalai Lama. “Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open," it read.

While most viewers saw it as yet another inspiring, harmless quote, the Chinese government did not react in the same way. The German automobile producer quickly posted an apology on its page of the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, saying, “We will immediately take practical actions to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values.” Mercedes-Benz’s parent company Daimler also wrote to the Chinese Ambassador to Germany in order to apologize for quoting the Dalai Lama.

This displays only the surface of the Chinese government’s relentless political attacks. The government’s threats are directed toward everyone and anyone, ranging from celebrities tweeting just a single sentence expressing support for the Dalai Lama to the clothing brand Zara for simply listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its website. This shows the Chinese government’s insecurity when it comes to their own platform, as they feel an urgent need to suppress other peaceful ideas in order to further their own. The government even hides certain messages from the entirety of its population, through banning people, websites and information from the country, just so that the Communist Party’s ideologies can reign supreme.

The issue of human rights is a hard battle to fight, but it is too important for us to ignore.

China’s forced inclusion of Tibet as a part of the country should not be referred to with the term “Chinese culture and values.” When I think of Chinese culture, I think of things that my ancestors have passed down to me for generations—certain clothing items, morals, food, music and other things that make me proud to be Chinese. Make no mistake; forcing an apology is not a Chinese value. Silencing dissenting voices is not a Chinese value. The Communist Party’s agenda of daily political propaganda and lack of basic rights is not a Chinese value. What we’re talking about here is political calculation. This is the oppression of a minority that has struggled so long for the right to preserve their own identity and pass on their way of life. This is China trying to suppress the unique cultures, traditions and values of the Tibetan minority. Let’s call it what it is.

With China’s rapidly growing economic influence, it will undoubtedly surpass America as the foremost global superpower. This German company has shown that money talks; as long as they can make a profit from selling products in China, they will bend to the Chinese government’s will. Despite all of the despicable human rights abuses committed by the government, from mobilizing tanks to fend off their own people to leaving incarcerated “political prisoners” to rot and die in jail, companies will stay complicit in the face of oppression. The issue of human rights is a hard battle to fight, but it is too important for us to ignore.