funny americans, Tibet has always been Chinese territory. Hey what happened to the Native Americans? Oh it's the past, right? Well the "take over" of Tibet is just the past too. Oh Native Americans were slaughtered 100 years ago? alright we just have to wait around 50 years then the invasion of Tibet will be justified as seen fit to you Americans, time heals? It's only okay for Americans to rape , pillage, and pollute the enviroment, all other nations must stay in the stone age.

Kang, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Seems the Aussies ( Matthew Merrington, canberra, australia& Lin Reeves, Sydney, see their postings above) only think about their own holiday and good times - nevermind that the Tibetans are in the situation they are in. Beers all around, eh guys?

Jo Jo, California, USA

who are these idiot Americans???..."thanks alot spoiling my trip!!!"

Matthew Merrington, canberra, australia

Tongluren,

Surprising that someone else from HK would say this. I suppose you must have been one of the few ultra-patriotic supporters of article 23. We have had the same attitude where I come from before, too - 'America, love it or leave it!' but thank God, the worst our government ever did was beat and firehose protestors for advocating equal rights. Lots of people 'stewed in jail' for speaking out against racism in the '60s, but we don't torture and execute people for practicing their religion. That's unnacceptable, and sometimes it takes someone from outside the country, who hasn't been brainwashed and hardened by the norms of that society [such as with Apartheid in S. Africa], to be able to point out that these things are wrong.

Brandon, Hong Kong,

Thanks, Tenzin and Sally. And for LuroRulin - how will we ever learn about China or as you spell it, CHINA, if we don't come there?

The fact that such a small incident can be so threatening to such an enormous govt. shows the "greatness" of the Chinese govt. The Chinese I have interviewed here in India don't even know correct history, they have been brainwashed for so many decades. I hope you all learn the truth about your own history.

sirensongs, Dharamsala, India

One of the "Americans" was a Tibetan who has American citizenship.

For those critics such as "luo ruilin," and "Lin Reeves," you have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the kind of repression that Tibetans inside Tibet have to live with daily. To you Tibet is some exotic location. You don't know of the anger and resentment that's under the surface over there for the Chinese Government and the Chinese migrants that've swamped Lhasa and other urban areas. You don't know what its like to be a second class citizen in your own country.

This is a fight for freedom. So things will be messy. Tourists will have to deal with that, or don't even bother coming to Tibet. Every Tibetan that knows of the protest (inside and outside of Tibet) has shown their support and admiration for the five individuals.

Tenzin, nyc,

Mareen, the travel agency that was shut down was not the one used by the five Americans, everything I heard at the time was to do with the reporter, Tim Johnson I think, who was in trouble for travelling without permission in Tibet.
Good job guys!

Ian, Edinburgh,

You stupid Americans, thanks to you, I have to abandon my plans of seeing Tibet without a gazillion dollars. Go protest at home or something! I am so peeved!!!!
I only heard about this because I wanted to travel to Tibet, so I guess your efforts were well worth it! NO ONE EVEN KNEW!!!!! Very effective!!

Lin Reeves, Sydney,

I was in Tibet around that time. Beijing closed the travel agency where the Americans hired the landcruiser and the driver. Many Tibetans lost their jobs and their families their livelihood. Not only they did. If you want to go on a tour, you need to take a guide - whether he's useful or not (our's wasn't) - who's approved by Chinese goverment. So, the agencies' own Tibetan guides can't work if they don't have the Chinese approval. For sure, their protest made it into international news, but it didn't improve anything for the Tibetans. In contrast, the Americans served the Chinese government on a golden plate a reason to implement new rules and restrictions and put more pressure on the Tibetan people.

Mareen, Birmingham,

The Chinese government is an atrocity. Anyone who justifies the actions of this government is not paying attention. They silence critics, prohibit travel, censor the internet and torture monks. There is no "New China" --China's government is the same old despotism. Sorry China, but you can't stop Americans and Tibetans from speaking out like you can silence those within your borders. The Olympics will be China's great embarassment and shame as attention is drawn to their actions by free people all over the world.

Read, Houston,

Good for the americans.
It is fantastic that such a small group can have a dramic effect and bring back to the forfront the plight of the tibet people. Tibet should be free, when i was in india the refugee camps of tibeten people malmost made me cry. They are peaceful and just want to go home and yet because their country is full of minerals they have been expelled. Shame on china. I wish i was in tibet to protest too.

Sally, bristol,

I'm tired of all Americans' thinking. It seems they are still in cold war. They no nothing about CHINA. Even many of them do not konw the difference between CHINA and Japan(or CHINA and Korea),they still do critical things to china.So take a walk - I never want to see you americans again!

luo ruilin, chengdu, CHINA

It is truly disappointing that the Chinese government just let the rabble rousers go free. They should stew in jail for a few months before they are kicked out, and then barred from reentry to China for life.

Don't like what you see, don't come. There are hundreds of thousands of law abiding Western tourists who enjoy the sights of Tibet.

Tongluren, Hong Kong,

I cannot say that I have very much sympathy with the Chinese for their fear of being embarrassed at the Olympics. In my opinion they have embarrased themselves every single day since they entered Tibet and caused unwarranted harm and destruction to a peaceful nation and to people who practice non violence as a way of life. More should be done to put a stop to to the Chinese before they destroy the Tibetan culture altogether. When will the governments of the west take a stand and aid the Dalai Lama in his quest to help Tibetan people who are still trapped in the nightmare that Tibet has become. With few civil rights and liberties and certainly no right to practise a faith of their own choice, native Tibetans are fast becoming a minority in their own land, a land that is becoming a Chinese dumping ground for nuclear waste and an overflow area for it's own over population problems. What sort of world do we live in to turn a blind eye to the atrocities that are happening in Tibet.

Wendy, Hull, UK