FREE TIBET

Live Free, Ride Free
The world watched anxiously as a single student held back the entire Chinese Red Army for one short moment. The Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4th 1989 was a lens into Chinas communist philosophy. It’s believed that thousands of innocent Chinese students were gunned down on that day. I was among the first Americans invited to perform in Communist China only four months later. We each had out own interpreter (Security) and the itinerary was strict. In between our concerts for 17 thousand Chinese nightly we played a special concert for Chinese government officials. At the subsequent dinner I asked candid questions to an officer seated near me. “Why did China roll in with tanks and subdue the students with violence?” My interpreter nervously translated to the high ranking army official. He peered into my eyes and responded directly without hesitation or emotion. “China has no homeless, everyone is fed yet we are unattached to world economics. One small shift can completely alter the balance of our social stability. That will not happen.” I asked him about the Chinese response to the return of Hong Kong by Britain in 1997. He replied, “We will roll in with Tanks.” That they did.

While sipping Hefeweitzen in Munich Germany in November of 1989 the news broke that the Berlin wall was coming down. Destruction of this sinister symbol of isolation and control freed Russia from communism. The Chinese official was right, it was a small shift that changes the social stability. I think a political shift may be in the stars for Tibet.

I’m an American, I’m a motorcyclist and I live free, ride free and am heading to Tibet to motorcycle the Himalayas for two weeks. Forcefully annexed by the Chinese decades ago suddenly its De Ja Vu all over again. Here come the tanks, this time its monks being killed but even more seems at stake this massacre. 20 years’ later Communist China is inexorably attached to the economics of the world and the world is watching.

Sunday March 9th 2008 His Holiness the Dalai Lama participated in the prayer ceremony in Darhamsala yesterday to mark the 19th anniversary of the imposition of martial law in Lhasa on March 8th 1989. The same year he was given the Nobel Peace Prize.

Friday March 15th. Riots in Lhasa again remind the world Tibet is a country in turmoil since the invasion by China in 1959. ”Some ignorant monks led by a small handful of people did some illegal things that can challenge social stability" foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. "To safeguard national security and social order is the responsibility of our judiciary and law enforcing departments. We will continue to combat any illegal activities" he said. Over 300 monks and Nuns were arrested and at least 30 people killed.

Saturday march 16th. On Saturday morning the first images appeared on the popular U.S Video site Youtube along with video streamed foreign news reports, photos, and commentary. Then suddenly all of China’s 210 million Internet users who try to access the U.S based video site will only get a blank screen.

Sunday March 17th 2008 BEIJING (Reuters) - Rioting erupted in a province neighboring Tibet on Sunday, two days after violent protests by Tibetans against Chinese rule in Lhasa in which the region's exiled representatives said 80 people had been killed. Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said the Tibetan nation was in serious danger and called for an investigation into what he called cultural genocide in his homeland.
Monday March 18th 2008 China has prohibited the entry of foreigners to Tibet and asked the tourists currently there to leave. This in response to the wake of the worst-ever violence in two decades in region's capital stemming from pro-independence protests.
Within two weeks the Olympic torch (lit in Greece on March 25th) is to be brought to the top of Mt Everest in Tibet. No applications for climbing Mount Everest between March and June are being accepted because of the torch relay. No matter whether you're an individual or group, it's impossible to get permission to climb the mountain during the period.

China has much at stake in the new global economy, as do we. America has handed her torch of liberty to a communist country that’s burning down our house. And we don’t even smell the smoke. Watch with cautious eyes, listen with lucid ears and ask for the truth. If I ride Tibet I will live free, ride free and tell her story.