Now that Liddle Donnie Dotard has decided the children of political rivals are fair game, it’s time to return the favor. Today it’s Princess Ivanka’s turn. There is a lot to work with here, so I will focus on just one thing, her trademarks and China.
As previously noted, Trump abandoned Tibet to the depredations of China once Ivanka got her coveted trademarks. Now we must bear witness to the consequences of this betrayal of human rights, this selling off of fundamental principles formerly championed by Americans.
We start in Larung Gar, the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institution.
Chinese officials announced on March 12, 2017, that 3,225 homes at Larung Gar, the world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institution, would be torn down by April 30.
Many of the monks and nuns already expelled from Larung Gar and the nearby religious community at Yachen Gar, both in Tibetan areas of Sichuan province, have been forced to return to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and subjected to exceptional restrictions on their liberty and to degrading treatment.
“China is aggressively dismantling religious freedom along with religious life at Larung Gar by subjecting many expelled monks and nuns to forced re-education,” according to Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “The restrictions imposed on former residents should be removed so they can exercise fully their rights to religious practice, including freely joining religious institutions and observing religious rituals.”
What exactly is the treatment meted out to these newly displaced monks and nuns? Here’s a small example:
The video shows Tibetan women with shaven heads, who appear to be nuns, dressed in military jackets and standing in rows inside a police or government office decorated in Tibetan style. The women are chanting in unison, “The Tibetans and the Chinese are daughters of the same mother, the name of the mother is China,” part of a song often used by officials in Tibet to propagate the view that Tibetans are genetically or culturally Chinese.
This is what “re-education” looks like. Buddhist nuns usually make a commitment to “refrain from singing, dancing, and viewing entertainments” as the sixth of the 10 sramenerika or novice vows taken by nuns or monks when they are first ordained. This strongly suggests that these performances were coerced and that officials required these nuns to sing to humiliate or embarrass them.
Compare and contrast that to this video of nuns from the Drepung Monastary in Lhasa, Tibet.
A senior abbot in a recent speech said that the monks and nuns “who have left had never wanted to leave... And whether or not they had some place to go, they still had to leave.” He added that “the demolitions and expulsions come from the policy of the senior levels of government, and cannot be discussed” and called on all monks and nuns to “show great forbearance and not react with protest, suicide and the like.”
The last comment is particularly concerning. Suicide as protest has been a growing problem for a long time.
Why lay this at Ivanka’s feet?
Ivanka says “I don’t know what it means to be complicit.” Here’s a clue. Trading the lives of millions so you can secure trademark rights is a good example. These are not just words. There are consequences. The oblivious princess goes on to whine:
I don't know that the critics who may say that of me, if they found themselves in this very unique and unprecedented situation that I am now in, would do any differently than I am doing,
Really? I don’t think I would trade the fate of Tibet for money. But that’s me. I am a poor magician and I never could understand how you make tears disappear through sleight of hand. Of course, it wasn’t always this way. Before Ivanka had dinner with China’s President Xi and got three Chinese trademarks as a
“thank you” gift, the current administration had actually promised
support for Tibet's issues.
Funny how things change once a Trump gets involved. Don’t expect to hear a peep out of the hypocrites who like to bray about religious freedom in the United States. They’re too busy counting their 30 pieces of silver.
Speaking of money — and that is all that matters with Team Trump — with Jared also courting China for money, expect the beatings, demolitions, and “re-education” to continue unabated. China knows they have as free reign here as Duterte has in the Philippines, Erdogan has in Turkey, and Putin has in the United States.
Ever wondered what hundreds of crying nuns sounds like? Now you don’t have to wonder…