LOS ANGELES — Absolutely no one in the Western media is showing any sympathy at all for China in the current roiling mess over Tibet and the Olympic Games. But somebody has to do it, if only to try to achieve some balance and maturity of perspective. So we might as well make the effort here and now.
On Tibet itself: Westerners in general — and this includes the president of France — have no sense that Chinese people regard this Himalayan territory as much of an integral part of China as Texas is of the United States.
Go ahead and poll not only the Chinese on the vast mainland but the Chinese in Hong Kong and indeed even in Taiwan, and what you will get is an overwhelming consensus that Tibet is part of China. You will get this consensus not just from the man on the street but from distinguished and accomplished professionals, professors and even journalists.