Special report: Dalai clique's separatist activities condemned

    By Xinhua writer Yu Zheng

    BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Some westerners believe that the period in the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics is one of the best opportunities to lambaste the Chinese government.

    This is the case with Tibet. No matter what Chinese media reported about the atrocities of the rioters in Lhasa, how they broke the law, how unpopular the law-breakers are among Lhasa residents, the Lhasa story line in the minds of some Western media has already been shaped -- the public authority is evil and the protestors are vulnerable. It fits well with the western, Christian story of David and Goliath.

    Established perceptions cannot easily be altered in arrogant minds. Once story lines are formed they often remain, and some Western news outlets don't even bother to discover facts contradictory to their shaped lines. With such closed mindsets, any new event is just evidence that confirms the pre-determined line (the prejudices if you like), which is, in the Tibet case, that the Chinese government is in the wrong.

    But the arrogance is palpable in Western attitudes towards a developing country that is going to host the Games.

    Despite the pristine notion of an end to war and the spreading of world harmony, the Olympics are now too much politicized. All political goals will be related to the upcoming Olympics.

    Self-righteousness helps boost self confidence on the one hand, but on the other self-righteous people firmly hold to their own standards of judgment. The self-righteous judgment, often arbitrary, contributes to a blurring of conceptual boundaries such as, in the Tibet case, the inability (or unwillingness) to tell right from wrong. The criminal violence in Lhasa was repeatedly translated as a justifiable release of ethnic and religious resentment, and thus should be treated leniently.

    With cognitive blackout, some self-righteous Westerners understandably tilt for unproven rumors, most later proven wrong, over the official supply of information, for special interests groups over legitimate governments. While showing sympathy for the causes advocated by those special interests groups, they display little sympathy for the victims suffering from the "justifiable" violence in Lhasa. Who in the Western media cares for the young law-enforcer who was tortured by mobs when a fist-sized scoop of flesh was ripped out of his hip? Okay, he is among the armed police, so what? Who is concerned for the lives of five sales girls who were burnt to death by rioters? The scenes were photo-shopped out of the picture.

    To dig up the subconscious root of arrogance and self-righteousness, I tend to resort to 'heathen aversion,' not at all a new phenomenon. Psychological studies indicate people much more easily accept views and attitudes of people like them, both in appearance and belief. Uncontrolled 'heathen aversion' might lead to a lesser degree of tolerance of different cultures, values and ethical codes. Collectivism, for instance, is appreciated in some cultures, whereas it is discredited by others for its tendency to trample on individual rights.

Foreigners in Tibet: Western media reports not conform with facts

    LHASA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- While some Western media rashly accuse China of "violent crackdown" on the "peaceful protests" in Tibet, some foreigners there disagreed.

    "Many reports were not accurate," said Tony Gleason, field director of Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund, an American organization which helps poor Tibetans through skill training and small sum of financing. Full story

German news television regrets error in covering Tibet riots

N-TV, headquartered in Germany, used TV footage showing police with captured protestors in a report on the Tibet riots. The footage had been shot in Nepal, the police were Nepalese.Photo Gallery>>>

    BERLIN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Germany's RTL television said on Sunday that it "regrets an error" in covering the riots in Lhasa, capital city of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

    The TV station admitted on its website that it "used a picture in a wrong context." Full text

German media apologize for errors in covering Tibet riots

    BERLIN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Two German news organizations have apologized after being accused of distorting facts in covering the riots in Lhasa, capital city of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

    German news television N-TV on Monday admitted that a picture and a video sequence it used on March 20 in a report about the riots in Tibet had actually been taken in Nepal, a neighboring country of China. Full text

Netizens slam CNN's distortion of riot picture

A CNN website picture shows people running in front of a military truck. The original picture uploaded by Chinese netizens, however, actually also shows mobsters throwing stones at the truck.Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of netizens have answered calls to condemn CNN and a few other western media organizations for distorting facts in covering the riot in Lhasa, capital city of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

    "The fairness and objectivity of CNN is cropped," said one of the postings at the online forum of www.china.com., referring to a CNN website picture showing people running in front of a military truck. The original picture uploaded by Chinese netizens, however, actually also shows mobsters throwing stones at the truck. Full text