-Caveat Lector- Murdoch launches 'self-serving' attack on Dalai Lama By Philip Delves Broughton in New York News Corp sows seeds of Chinese revolution Rupert bares all about love on a soya diet RUPERT MURDOCH, the chairman of News Corporation, was condemned by human rights activists and Tibetans yesterday after criticising the Dalai Lama and condoning the Chinese occupation of Tibet. Mr Murdoch, who hopes to expand his business interests in China, said of the leader of Tibetan Buddhism: "I have heard cynics who say he's a very political old monk shuffling around in Gucci shoes." Mr Murdoch, 68, who recently married a 31-year-old Chinese woman, Wendi Deng, also excuses China's disregard for human rights on the ground that the average Chinese person cares more about "his next bowl of rice" than democracy. Tibetan groups in America reacted furiously to Mr Murdoch's comments in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine, calling them "ignorant", "cynical" and "self-serving". His attack comes at a time when the Dalai Lama and the cause of Tibet are more popular than ever in the United States. Mr Murdoch expresses his support for China's forced occupation of Tibet by asking whether Tibet's own culture was ever worth preserving: "It was a pretty terrible old autocratic society out of the Middle Ages. Maybe I'm falling for their propaganda," he says of the Chinese government, "but it was an authoritarian, medieval society without any basic services." "Rupert Murdoch knows nothing about Tibet," said Tashi Tsering, a spokesman for the Tibet Fund, which sends money from the West to Tibetans exiled in India and Nepal. "People like him who work with the Chinese government are directly supporting the occupation of Tibet. He is definitely not someone to make moral judgments, particularly about someone like the Dalai Lama. He should stick to making money." Mr Murdoch says that Tibet's main problem is "that half the people of Tibet still think that the Dalai Lama is the Son of God". The Dalai Lama, however, is supposedly the reincarnation of the first Dalai Lama rather than the son of God. In his ambition to expand his Star satellite television business in China, Mr Murdoch has already been accused of placing his commercial interests above freedom of speech. In 1994, he dropped the BBC from Star after it was critical of Chinese leaders and of the Tiananmen Square killings. Last year, he ordered his publishing company HarperCollins to abandon publication of Chris Patten's recollections of his time as Governor of Hong Kong because they too were critical of the Chinese government. 24 June 1999: China fears prospect of blue-eyed Dalai Lama 19 June 1999: Beijing woos Tibet with its chosen reincarnation 28 March 1999: China uses prostitutes to bring shame on Tibetan monks 26 March 1999: Diplomatic rift over Tibet demo 14 March 1999: Simpson on Sunday: Why Beijing must take a great leap forward on Tibet 9 February 1999: 'Don't be afraid to condemn me' says Dalai Lama 11 December 1998: Dalai Lama under fire as China talks are stalled 12 November 1998: Clinton talks with Dalai anger China http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000271261842766&rtmo=3qA8wHBM&atmo=ggggg3qK &pg=/et/99/9/7/wmur07.html Bard Visit me at: The Center for Exposing Corruption in the Federal Government http://www.xld.com/public/center/center.htm Federal Government defined: ....a benefit/subsidy protection racket! DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
