(France) Yves Mouillet

There are many misunderstandings and prejudices about the understanding of China's Tibet by the French and the Westerners in general. The three most widely discussed public opinions about Tibet are:

 

One: Tibet used to be a paradise on earth. The Chinese Communist Party imposed high-handed rule on Tibet. Today Tibetans are very unhappy.

 

Second: The Communist Party has destroyed the religious and cultural purity of Tibet, restricted the freedom of religious belief of Tibetans, and hindered the inheritance and development of Tibetan culture.

 

Third: Although the Communist Party developed the Tibetan economy, it has caused serious damage to the Tibetan ecological environment, and this trend has become increasingly fierce.

 

My observation is that this bias stems from three reasons:

 

First: The inertia of the thinking left over from the Cold War has made many people develop a natural hostility towards the Communist Party. They will pretend to deny everything which come from the Communist government and think that they are wrong and evil no matter what they do.

 

Second: Because of the first reason the Communist Party’s version of Tibet’s history and reality has not been effectively disseminated in France. The Dalai Lama, who has been in exile for a long time, has gotten many opportunities to speak and misled the perception of Tibet by Western audiences.

 

Third: The self-righteousness of the French elite is simple and even naive with people.

 

As a Frenchman who grew up in France and has lived and worked in China for more than eight years, I will try to interpret the deep-seated reasons of these prejudices and use the facts to refute these public opinion widely spread in the West.

 

Yves Mouillet, France

Anchor of CGTN French of China Global

Television Network(CGTN)