why not protest in china or tibet oh no too busy over here bleeding scotland dry

The reason that we cannot protest in China or Tibet is that in China or Tibet protesting is illegal. Freedom of speech is not respected in China and political dissidents in Tibet are arrested, thrown into jail and tortured.

The writer of this comment might like to refresh his knowledge of the state of current affairs in China, and if he would like to receive more information feel free to post another message and I will respond to any queries he may have.

...and explain exactly why he feels that raising awareness of appalling human rights abuse is 'bleeding Scotland dry'.

Well first off I must mention that I agree with Dragonhead that in China protests do not get out of hand like here - I mean the Tiannamen Square massacre of 1989 was proof enough for me that freedom of speech is respected more in China than it is in the UK!

But seriously, I think that between the lines of personal attack you raise some interesting points which I will respond too.

1) On judging cultures by our 'Western standards' - you could use that argument to suggest that during the Nazi regime in Germany other countries should have respected Germany's culture and not intervened in the massacre of 7 million Jews. I wonder if Pyalden Gyatso (more information http://www.korubo.com/TIBETDOC/palden.htm), a famous Tibetan monk who was tortured for 20 years in a Chinese prison held up his hands and said 'its ok - its our culture - I dont mind being tortured' Whilst I am not arguing my standards are 'value free', it is true to say that at certain times we must stand together as a world and criticise cultures when they perform acts of human rights abuse.

2) This leads onto the next point about 'putting my home first.' And as this is a personal attack, I will answer personally on this issue - I do also campaign for issues in Scotland, and the rest of the UK. I do agree with you that there are pertinent issues of civil liberties in the UK which need to be addressed. However, surely you would not begrudge me doing both -campaigning for both Tibetan issues and Scottish ones?

3) As for the anti-China propaganda, I must mention quite explicitly that I am not anti-China. I have visited China and had a wonderful time, met lovely people, have Chinese friends and find the culture fascinating. What I oppose is the Chinese government's human right's record, something which is not just a Tibetan issue, but a China-wide one. I suggest that Report Unsuitable

I would be grateful if Dragonhead could equally extensively comment on the issue raised by the following article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6420417.stm