Tuesday, March 11, 2008

What is the punishment for unauthorised reincarnation?

Some time ago, China passed a law which made it illegal for Tibetans to reincarnate without permission from the state.

This is of course bizarre on a number of different levels.

Firstly, a supposedly atheist country China, is in its laws, accepting religion. Secondly by laws, it seems it intends on controlling the supernatural.

However, you do have to wonder what the Chinese government proposes to do with offenders.

Imprisonment?

The death penalty?

And if the death penalty, what do you do with repeat offenders?

Re offending not normally a problem you have when the penalty is death, but in the case of reincarnation, it clearly could be.

The Chinese are of course nuts. They can't control the people of Tibet because the do not want to be controlled. China is in fact an imperialist power just like Russia occupying lands that are not theirs gained by conquest and held by force, unlike the British Empire which has relinquished all land gained by force where it is not held by consent*.

*Diego Garcia excepted as a Labour government sold its people down the river handing the land over to the USA for a military base and therefore not holding that land by consent. In all other territories, the land is held by the consent of those who live there.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well... the main difference between the current Chinese Empire and the vestiges of Empire that Britain retains is merely timing.

The only reason that there is a Unionist majority in Northern Ireland is because of the immigration that British Imperialists encouraged.

A similar process is happening in Tibet, with large numbers of ethnic Han Chinese being encouraged to immigrate by the central government. At some future point in time the Chinese would be able to similarly claim a Tibetan majority in favour of union with China.

Doesn't stop it from being reprehensible, of course, but lets not airbrush British history.

Lydia said...

That's really odd (that law).