Do the monks have the interests of ordinary Tibetans at heart?

[upsidedownwalrus]

The poor Chinese have no concept whatsoever of what's going on in Tibet. For most Chinese people, Tibet is still a pretty far off, distant, slightly dangerous, land of barbarous ruffians where you get ill easily because of the altitude.

For the rich elite, it's the new playground.

It's true about the 'barbarous ruffians' btw. People warned me before I went to Kunming, which has a major minority group population, that it was dangerous, blah blah. I found it to be the most pleasant city I have visited yet, with flowerbeds at the side of the road, no rubbish, etc.

 

[888]

Do those Chinese who are really no better off than Tibetans - state repression, use of slave labour, and widespread poverty etc - have more sympathy for the Tibetans, or do they not see reform in Tibet as likely to have a positive impact on their own lives?

No, they're mostly in the throes of the rabid nationalism that seems to have captivated most Chinese, I believe.