Tibet, again?

China responded to the Dalai Lama's visit. My response as your average guy:

(1)     I'd bet a significant number of Americans see China as an unwanted influence in Tibet and also are advocates of "Tibetan Independence"--not because they don't know Chinese history, but because it doesn't matter how long China has been occupying Tibet. China occupied Vietnam for a thousand years. The US was part of Great Britain for a good while, too. My guess is that many Americans see the Tibetan cause as worth of the great split, for whatever reason I could care less.

(2)     It is no secret that the US (and most Americans) views the Dalai Lama as both a respected religious leader and as a respected political figure. While Obama may play a political game with China by claiming one way or the other, it would be silly to think he somehow supported China's occupation of Tibet.

(3)     China tends to respond in these cryptic messages that make it seem like they're out of touch with the real problem. They pretend like we all agree and it's just a matter of reminding us of certain facts. The real fact is that--once again, only a guess--most Americans politely disagree with China fundamentally on its position, and resent China's patronising attitude in responding as it did.