The Chinese government is going to pay "compensation" to the victims of violence in Tibet, and in my country (the USA) the press is calling this "propaganda." The press did the same with the USSR. Any act of generosity, apology, or compromise on the part of an adversary is labeled "propaganda" because the West, generally, is opposed to the Chinese government and its designs. Tibet should have been left independent, of course, but we should be careful with the words we use to describe complicated events. To call an act of redemption, even a small one like this, "propaganda" is itself "propaganda." The best way to handle China may be to endorse its Olympics and welcome it into the industrialized world. Then they may have too much to lose to alienate the West.
