🚀 go-pugleaf

Just forwarding this message found in several other newsgroups as
relevant here!

"Jack E. Churchward" <afn20372@freenet.ufl.edu> wrote:
>Teachers Rally Against Splendid China
>A Pinellas educator and the teachers union want
>the School Board to ban field trips to the park
>because of its portrayal of Tibet.
>Monday November 6,1995
>St. Petersburg Times B1
>------
>From the day it opened nearly two years ago,
>the Splendid China theme park has gone after
>the educational field trip market, offering special
>rates and tours for student groups.

>And every day, several public-school buses roll
>into the $100 million attraction in Kissimmee for
>a few hours of entertainment and education.
>But a Pinellas County schoolteacher believes that
>Splendid China is misleading visitors, especially
>in it's portrayal of Tibet, a tiny neighbor invaded by
>China in the 1950s.

>Now high school teacher Dennis Harrison has
>asked the Pinellas County School Board to take
>a stand against China's subjugation of Tibet, and
>remove Splendid China from the district's list of
>approved field trips.

>"I know that this isn't the biggest issue on everyone's
>mind," said Harrison, who teaches at Pinellas
>Technical Education Center. "But its an opportunity
>to show that we stand for what we teach. If we teach
>justice and non-violence, the we ought to stand up for it."

>Harrison has the backing of the Pinellas Classroom
>Teachers Association, which voted this week to urge
>teachers and their families not to visit Splendid China.
>The union has also joined Harrison in urging the School
>Board to ban field trips to the park.

>So now the board is faced with an issue that has
>frustrated Western politicians and diplomats for decades:
>how to deal with human rights abuses by one of the most
>powerful but thin-skinned regimes in the world. A decision
>is expected this month.

>"No, this is not your typical School Board issue," said
>Betty Douglas, the supervisor of secondary social
>studies for Pinellas schools, and the woman who
>must make a recommendation for board action.
>"Its a fascinating issue, but it's not an easy call to make."

>Indeed, Douglas has found no easy answers. Experts
>tend to agree that the China/Tibet issue is a thorny
>one, and that things are not as rosy as portrayed 
>in the theme park.

>One of Splendid China's miniature architectural wonders
>at the park is the Lhasa Potala Palace, a structure
>surrounded by porcelain Tibetans in colorful robes.
>In reality, the monastery in Tibet was nearly destroyed
>in the Chinese invasion, and monks are no longer
>allowed to pray there.

>Now, years after the Chinese occupation and occasional
>reports of killings and torture, Tibetans still hope to
>regain their independence, or at least retain their
>separate language, culture and Buddhist religion.

>Given the troubling facts, the question is what,
>if anything, the Pinellas School Board should do.

>Harvey Nelson, professor of international studies
>and modern Asian history at the University of South
>Florida, had this to say: "Clearly the problem of
>human rights abuse in Tibet is a serious one.
>It's pretty horrendous. But does that mean that
>students should be prohibited from visiting this
>park ? I don't think so."

>"If a teacher wants to visit the park and say
>something about Chinese imperialism, they're
>free to do so."

>A different point of view is held by Nathan Katz,
>professor of religious studies a Florida International
>University. "I enjoy the park, but I do object to the
>inclusion of Tibetans and other minorities under
>the rubric of being Chinese," he said.

>"The park is intended to be entertainment and
>education, but when you're talking about a field
>trip, you're talking about education. This is
>propaganda and misinformation by the Chinese.
>I would take it off the field trip list."

>The 76-acre theme park southwest of Orlando is
>no stranger to controversy. Even before it opened,
>protesters sought to call attention to the Tibetan issue.

>And the theme park has sought to deflect criticism.

>"Our park has nothing to do with the politics," said
>Splendid China spokeswoman Ellen Siu. "The best
>thing is to come in and see for yourself. We can show
>the architecture, the culture, and the art of Asia.
>We really don't want to touch on the politics side."

>But critics say the park is all about politics.

>"It is run by a Chinese agency; it's run by the
>Chinese government," said John Ackerly, director
>of the International Campaign for Tibet. "The reason
>the park is here is because the Chinese government
>wants to improve it's image in the West. That's political."

>For two years, Ackerly's organization has urged
>school groups to stay away from Splendid China,
>though he is unaware of any districts that have banned
>trips to the park. Ackerly's concern is that teachers and
>students will be unfamiliar with the Tibetan controversy
>and will unknowingly accept Splendid China's view of the world.

>From what Douglas has learned in Pinellas County,
>it appears that Ackerly's fears are well-founded.
>Douglas has spoken with teachers at the handful of
>Pinellas schools that already visited the park to see
>how they handled the issue. They generally were
>unaware of the Tibetan controversy, she found.

>Regardless of what decision the school board makes,
>Harrison hopes to raise the awareness of the issue.

>Katz, the FIU professor, said the decision by the school
>board members might be more significant than they realize.

>The main hope for Tibetan independence is for the world
>to keep focusing on the issue," he said. The Chinese are
>well aware of what happens in Orlando and in Splendid
>China. I think that Beijing will be interested to see what
>happens in Pinellas County."
>--
>**************************************************************
>* Jack E. Churchward         email: afn20372@freenet.ufl.edu     
>**************************************************************

...Kathi

--
Kathi Webster		
Tampa FL, USA		
kathiw@innet.com
http://innet.com/~kathiw/index.html