Image: original photo by AP/Andy Wong Pool-Graphic via @tibettruth
Readers looking at the staged image above may well be experiencing a degree of nauseating propaganda, please note you will find a sick-bag located under your seat, meanwhile we trust our exposure of this shameless deception will help to reveal just how desperate the Chinese regime is to convince the world of its lie that Tibetan culture is respected and flourishing under its tender mercies!
Clearly the First Lady has been placed in an entirely invidious situation, used not only by China’s propaganda ministry but also the State Department, which would have discussed and agreed this event weeks ago. What seems not to have troubled the sharp suits of 2201 C Street NW is exposing Michelle Obama to what was a cynical and duplicitous political charade, imagine for a moment a visit to the former racist and apartheid state of South Africa by a First Lady. As part of the supposedly non-political tour she is taken to a restaurant near Soweto and welcomed by the stiff smiles of staff, meanwhile in that blighted township the black population is denied fundamental freedoms and suffering appalling human rights abuse. Would such a controversial and ethically troubling event have been approved by officials in Washington DC?
We would love the opportunity to discuss such a scenario with Michelle, who perhaps is already aware that Tibetans are suffering a genocide that seeks to assimilate and eventually eradicate the culture and national identity of Tibet. Just what was John Kerry’s department thinking of when approving this? Is this what the State Department means by ‘Diplomacy In Action’?
Digital Activism In Support Of Tibetan Independence 
Your analysis is too simplistic. Michelle Obama requested to eat at a Tibetan restaurant. Of course she knew she would get presented with a certain facade. But it’s good that she ate at a Tibetan restaurant and met real Tibetans, and I am sure they appreciated her presence, despite having to act out the facade. Read between the lines here. The Tibetan staff know that MO made this request, very soon after her husband met His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The staff, MO and the Chinese government are all aware of self-immolations. Nobody is under any illusions. She was not used. But in a subtle way, she made a point. While in the PRC, she also spoke about the importance of the Tibetan language.
Tibet is not South Africa. And think about it: it would have been great if white or black staff in a South African restaurant under apartheid had to serve the African American wife of an African American US president.
We indeed are most fortunate to now have your advice on how to interpret nuance and strategic thinking, your view is noted, however we stand by the points made the the post and do not share your implied trust in the integrity of the State Department, especially in regard to Tibet and its cause.