The German newspaper the Spiegel reports that the Chinese government has learned something from the protests in Tibet in recent days. Giving Tibetans more freedom results in peace? Destroying peoples’ cultures doesn’t make them love you? Nope. None of that. The lesson China has learned is that it has to modernize its army so it can deal with ‘rebellion’ in a more effective manner.

Another ‘advantage’ of modernizing its army is, China’s government believes, that the rest of the world will “respect” China.

After sealing off three sources of unrest at monasteries, Beijing seized what had materialized as a welcome opportunity to paint the incidents as proof positive that a policy of strength — both internally and externally — is more important now than ever before. It also confirmed its leaders’ insistence that the country needs a more powerful military to deal with uprisings within its borders and crises abroad.

It was only at the beginning of the month that the National People’s Congress, Beijing’s pseudo-parliament, approved a hefty 17.6-percent increase in China’s military budget over 2007. In the coming 12 months, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will have just under 418 billion yuan, or about $60 billion (€38 billion), at its disposal to buy new missiles, tanks, bombers and warships, as well as to train new units designed to suppress future rebellions.

This giant sum still represents only about one-tenth of US military spending, and yet the increase represents a significant leap forward. The scope of the military buildup makes it clear to the Tibetans that Beijing has the ability to defend its interests and edicts with massive military might. It also fuels speculation abroad over when China will attain its long-term logistical goal of catching up to the United States militarily. Beijing’s military budget has grown much faster than the Chinese economy over the past decade…

Beijing’s generals and admirals know that it will be a long time before they can stand up to the United States, but they want to be at least strong enough “not to be pushed around.” One of the ways they hope to develop their military might is with a missile program that the Americans describe as “the most active in the entire world.” It includes Chinese-made precision cruise missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) that can pose a threat to enemy aircraft carrier groups.

Not to be pushed around means, in this particular case of course, that oppressed peoples don’t demand freedom.

Meanwhile, the New York Times has an interesting article up about the relationship between Tibetans and ethnic Chinese (Han) living together in Tibet. China encouraged its citizens to move to Tibet, in an attempt to destroy Tibetan culture and to “Hanize” it. “Relations between the two groups are typically marked by stark disdain or distrust, by stereotyping and prejudice and, among Tibetans, by deep feelings of subjugation, repression and fear.”

After decades of heavily financed efforts on the part of China to strengthen its control over Tibet and to tame the country’s far west through gigantic infrastructure projects and resettlement of Han Chinese from the east, the outbreak of protests and a fierce crackdown by Chinese security forces in and around Tibet have laid bare a harsh reality of policy failure.

There is no legalized ethnic discrimination in China, but privilege and power are overwhelmingly the preserve of the Han, while Tibetans live largely confined to segregated urban ghettos and poor villages in their own ancestral lands.

The wonderful nature of communism.

And how do Han Chinese think about Tibetans? Why, they’re ungrateful of course:

“Our government has wasted our money in helping those white-eyed wolves,” Wang Zhongyong, a Han manager of handicraft shops, said in an interview in Lhasa. Mr. Wang’s shops sell Tibetan-themed trinkets to tourists. One of his shops was smashed and burned in the riots. “Just think of how much we’ve invested in relief funds for monks and for unemployed Tibetans,” he said. “Is this what we deserve?”

Honorable mention on the frontpage for the person who knows the right answer to that question!

Meanwhile, Jules Crittenden notes that the Chinese army continues to “unload” on Tibet. This thing is running completely out of hand, yet the only thing Western governments do is to politely ask China whether they’ll keep at least a few innocent Tibetan monks alive.