My lady has a Chinese mother who, even now, only speaks her native language.

She left China because of persecution and is disgusted with their treatment of the Tibetan people (verging on genocide). Tibet has oil (surprise) which means that China now has that oil since their decision to annex Tibet.

The protests work.

I know this because my 15 year old son asked me what the protests were about, this evening. He couldn't grasp where Tibet was (or China, even) until I got the globe out and showed him. At which point I likened the annexing of Tibet to the Third Reich's annexing of Austria &/or Sadam's annexing of Kuwait.

He sat enthralled (for once) as I explained, as dispassionately as I could, the economics and politics and motivations of the big guy stamping out the life of the little guy in order to take that which formerly belonged to the little guy, for himself.

Please don't ignore, make light of, or dismiss oppressed people merely because they are racially, culturally, or geographically distant.

There but for the grace of whatever you believe in.