China, Tibet, and the Strategic Power of Water: Pollution and Global Warming Threaten Asias’s Most Important Freshwater Source

Reported by: CSRWire.com
Circle of Blue reports on a crucial but little-known factor in China-Tibet conflict

Almost two years after a 710-mile (1,100 kilometer)railroad across the world’s highest plateau opened from central China to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, the deadliest clashes in a generation are occurring between Chinese police and young Tibetan protestors. The fierce fighting, which erupted in March, has produced casualties on both sides and prompted demonstrations around the world. Many analysts assert that the fighting is caused, at least in part, by fear that the Chinese government’s long-standing strategy to open Tibet’s vast reserves of copper, iron, lead, zinc, and other minerals will accelerate with the railroad’s development.