Image: kinganimals

We see it so much, well meaning organizations choosing to collaborate with the Chinese regime. They try justifying such an ethically worrying association by arguing that without such cooperation their work would not be possible. Some go further implying that their noble objectives absolve them of moral accountability or ethical principles.

So on that line-of-reasoning they jump into bed with a tyranny. Which, as the world knows, inflicts the most brutal human rights violations against its own people. While violently oppressing Tibet, East Turkistan, Southern Mongolia and Manchuria. But hey! The end justifies the means, right? If such complicity, for that it was it is, means they get to conduct conservation work on rare species such as the snow leopard then their decision to be fully compliant with the political demands of the Chinese authorities is justified. Right? Well not really!

Where’s the line drawn exactly? How far are organizations such as the Snow Leopard Trust (SNT) and Panthera Cats prepared to go in order to secure that precious travel visa or funded field trip to lands under the draconian grip of China?

Well clearly the SNT are happy to cooperate in wiping Tibet off of the world map! Just take a look at their published output on snow leopards and see how they describe those magnificent big cats as living ‘in China’s (so-called) Qinghai or Xinjiang Provinces’. Indeed on their website they announce: “China is one of the most influential countries for our conservation efforts, as it contains as much as 60% of all snow leopard habitat areas.”

Now these are political and territorial fabrications, engineered to promote China’s bogus claims, over what in fact are Tibetan lands or the territory of East Turkistan. Re-branding such areas as Chinese provinces is a cynical deception, designed to to mislead people into regarding those locations as being legitimate part of China. In truth they are nations and cultures which have been invaded, occupied and ruthlessly oppressed by China.

That dark reality though doesn’t appear to bother those who value their non-governmental, environmental or conservation projects above principles of human rights or justice. As long as they get to do their research they don’t give a damn! This ethical-free attitude is reflected in a tweet received 4/25/17 by our colleagues @tibettruth from the Snow Leopard Trust in which they stated:

“We’re not experts on geopolitics. We’re experts on snow leopards. To them (and us) countries don’t matter much – only mountains do.”

So there you have it, a supposedly responsible and respected conservation organization is essentially saying: ‘screw Tibetans, their plight, or the harrowing excesses of China’s regime’, while ignoring its active collaboration in eradicating Tibet from the map!