Analysis of What's Behind China's Tibetan Unrest Article by Paul Armstrong - Essay Example

Tibetans say that China has snatched their independence making their culture, language, and religion sink. Moreover, they say that Chinese troops have killed thousands of Tibetans since 1950. “The groups also claim Tibetans have gradually become the minority population in their own homeland” (Armstrong).

Tensions went high in 2008 when a protest led by Tibetans in Lhasa turned into violent riots. Tibetan mobs started burning shops, buses, and assets of ethnic Chinese. The government of China ordered its security forces to handle the situation. A clash occurred between Tibetans and the security forces, which resulted in a number of deaths. Tibetan exiles claimed that Chinese forces killed nearly 200 Tibetans, whereas the government denied this by saying that only 22 people were killed in the incident and most of them were Chinese civilians.

Since then, the tensions have been high in China. The present situation is that Tibetans have contacted the international community to put pressure on the government of China. However, the government of China does not seem to listen to the concerns of Tibetans at all.