Disliking the Demi-God: The Dalai Lama and the Cult of Personality

February 17, 2008 – 2:22 am

He’s an informant for the FBI
Whack the Dalai Lama

- The Dickies, “Whack the Dalai Lama”

Okay, I don’t actually advocate harming the Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, and don’t hold serious animosity towards him; that Dickies lyric merely seemed like a good opener.

I think the Dalai Lama is an alright guy.

I don’t think he’s the re-incarnation of a demi-god though, and I don’t think he’s an infallible sage or “the premiere moral presence of our time” (yes, I have seen this claim in print). And I hate, hate, hate the cult of personality that has surrounded him, and consequently, distorted the terms of debate over the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the issues pertaining to it.

Since I’m an advocate of self-determination (to some degree), I suppose it seems hypocritical to not throw in behind the Tibetan cause to any real extent, but that’s because I’ve done something a lot of the Dalai Lama’s supporters actually have not: I’ve read some Tibetan History. And furthermore, I’ve taken in excess of three seconds to evaluate the Dalai Lama’s wishes for a free Tibet, and realized that he wants a Theocracy that he can be the ruler of. His cause for a free Tibet is not entirely a selfless mission.

My main beef here is that Americans look at Buddhism in general, and its Tibetan subset in particular, through rose-colored glasses. This probably sounds weird coming from someone from an Abrahamic background, when all of the branches have some blood on their hands (yep, Judaism, you too). Yet, the Abrahamic faiths are re-examined all the time, while Buddhism gets a pass. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in Current Affairs, east asia, human rights | Comments (5)

Investments and Construction Workers- The Income Gap in Hong Kong

October 26, 2007 – 2:58 pm

Hong Kong is a global financial center, and a city famous for its “laissez-faire” economic policy. However, it is also a city with one of the highest income gaps in the world. The United Nations’ 2006 human development revealed that the Gini index of Hong Kong was 43.1, the highest among developed countries and cities in the world.

The best way to discover the difference between lives lived by the rich and the poor in Hong Kong is to spend a whole day following individuals and watching them earn their income in the city. Read More »

By Jonathan Mok | Posted in Business World, Current Affairs, east asia, money | Comments (0)

China, the United States and UNOCAL: The Triumph of Politics in Oil Bargaining

August 10, 2005 – 9:20 pm

Politics influenced the final outcome of bargaining for Unocal. China lost, but we can expect it to retaliate.

On April 4, directors of Unocal, the twelfth largest U.S. oil company (rated by the Forbes survey of 2000 World’s Biggest Companies) accepted a $16.5 billion offer to be bought by Chevron, the second largest U.S. oil company. The offer was one quarter in cash and three quarters in Chevron stock. However, on June 22, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the third largest Chinese oil company, and a company smaller than Unocal, made a counteroffer of $18.5 billion in cash, financed in part by low interest rate loans from its state-owned parent company.

In mid-July 2005, Chevron increased its bid to $17.3 billion, turning up the heat on CNOOC to respond with a higher bid of its own. Although higher, CNOOC’s offer faced “unprecedented political opposition” in Washington , leading it to withdraw its bid on August 2, thus leaving it to Chevron to complete the takeover. This comes as no surprise, for when it comes to oil bargaining, political factors rule over economics. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in Business World | Comments (0)

WORLD TRADE IMBALANCE: IS CHINA GUILTY?

November 24, 2003 – 9:21 pm

Three giant trading blocs account for more than one half of the value of world’s trade at current prices. The biggest is the European Union (EU-15) whose intra-trade in 2001 was worth $1,418 billion. The second is Asia (a bloc that excludes Japan and Australia, but includes Greater China—Taiwan and Hong-Kong— South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Mongolia, Cambodia and Brunei); in 2001, it had $722 billion in intra-trade. The third in importance is the North Atlantic Free Trade Association (NAFTA) consisting of the US, Canada, and Mexico), with $637 billion in intra-trade. Read More »

By Feature Writer | Posted in Business World | Comments (0)