Freies Tibet?

Tibet. What thoughts, concepts, and images come to your mind when you read or hear the word? Is it the expression "Roof of the World"? Are there picturesque scenes with devout monks and exotic rituals? Is it "His Holiness," the always mischievous and enigmatic "God-King" Dalai Lama? Are there overwhelmingly positive terms like Buddha, wisdom, spirituality, meditation, enlightenment, asceticism, tolerance, peacefulness, and non-violence? Or is it the catchy political slogan "Free Tibet"? It is also possible that the phrase "hell on earth" comes to mind. Both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government have used it frequently and fondly, and both have referred it to Tibet. However, they meant something completely different. For the Dalai Lama, the Chinese, the new Tibet that he left in 1959, is a "hell.".