irked Chinese target Tibet

I am not one of those people who drives around with a "Free Tibet!" bumper sticker that carries with it a certain righteous righteousness about the Buddhist theocracy that was supplanted in 1950 when the Chinese invaded ... or reclaimed their territory, depending on the point of view.

But now comes word that China is stepping up its efforts to eradicate any thought process or fealty Tibetans might feel for the Dalai Lama.

Writing in the ruling Communist Party's influential journal Qiushi, the latest issue of which was received by subscribers on Saturday, Tibet's party chief Chen Quanguo said that the government would ensure only its voice is heard.
"Strike hard against the reactionary propaganda of the splittists from entering Tibet," Chen wrote in the magazine, whose name means "seeking truth"....
[M]any Tibetans are still able to access such news, either via illegal satellite televisions or by skirting Chinese internet restrictions. The Dalai Lama's picture and his teachings are also smuggled into Tibet, at great personal risk.

Like any great vow, in whatever venue, the assertion of a particular point of view or 'correct' way of doing things carries with it the perfectly-human consideration of what the contravention of that vow might be or actually is.

Adultery is considered a no-no by some ... and there is adultery (even among the most devoted).
Killing is considered a no-no by some ... and there is killing (even among the most devoted).
And so it goes ...
Don't think of a purple cow.

A vow may be a wondrous thing, very wise in its teaching ... but any half-decent reality check will also reveal that it carries with it an implicit invitation.

I wonder to what extent the Chinese policy-makers are fueling the fire they seek to stamp out. Sure, the Dalai Lama pisses them off, but is not-thinking-of-a-purple-cow the same as solving the problem of a purple cow?