Once we found out when our vacation time would be (late July) we began thinking about possible trips — Thailand (maybe too rainy), Japan (too expensive for a whole week), Vietnam or Cambodia (why not stop when we decide to go to Thailand).

We then decided that it might be a great time to visit China. Beijing will be gearing up for the Olympics, and we can check out Shanghai while we’re there. But our thoughts about this potential trip have been changing over the last week and a half.

When I heard about the protests in Lhasa, Tibet and the reaction of the Chinese government, I assumed it was all fairly standard. (I’m fairly uninformed on historical relations between China and Tibet but know that, well, this kind of thing has been happening for a while). Apparently, monks usually carry out the demonstrations, but this time lay people joined in and became violent. (For more listen to this NPR story).

It’s estimated that 30 people are dead, and China is feeling embarrassed as this event is overshadowing the Olympics. Now that the world is watching China, it appears that the country is allowing foreign journalists into Tibet. But who knows exactly what’s been going on while they were banning said journalists.

We would love to be in China right before the Olympics, an event that isn’t usually held in the developing world. But we feel morally responsible for at least thinking about visiting a country that has withheld freedom from another culture.

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