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A few days back in a Twitter exchange I once again was told by some one that China (and its supporters) should “go atone in Tibet”. As a child of Sichuan, I took great offense with that comment. I spoke with my mother last night about it, and want to share this personal story. 1/
My grandfather was born into a poor urban family during WWII in Sichuan. Due to the wars he could only attended school intermittently. At age 20 he became a lab assistant at a medical university, washing beakers, wiping down lab benches, and prepping experiment for students. 2/
Grandpa was smart and he worked hard, putting himself through school while helping to raise 3 of his younger siblings. He later became a lab analyst, and eventually a research professor in public health. He worked on animal pandemic prevention for decades. 3/
In the 60’s and 70’s, Tibet had very few modern medical facilities, and very few properly trained Tibetan medical workers. Grandpa’s university had a Tibetan “affirmative action” program. But only when those students arrived the school realized how far behind they were in edu. 4/
Not only were they behind in STEM education, they also knew very limited Mandarin, which the textbooks then were all written in. So the professors took turns tutoring them in the evening for free. Sometimes grandpa would meet them in the lab, sometimes at home. 5/
My mother told me that she would sit with them sometimes, learn a few things about chemistry even though she was still only a kid. After his Tibetan students graduated, grandpa went to Tibet for a year with them to help build an animal pandemic control infrastructure there. 6/
They visited cities and villages all across the region, setting up sample collection stations and labs. They met with local herders and taught them how to spot parasites in farm animals, how to prevent zoonotic diseases, and basic public health practices. 7/
Aside from this program, both of my grandparents did multiple tours in medical out reach teams, and went to the western Sichuan region to provide care to the minority communities. My grandparents aren’t special or famous. They’re just 2 out of millions who helped built China. 8/
Where I’m from, everyone knows someone like my grandparents, or ppl who paved roads, built schools, erected cellphone towers for the minority communities, or soldiers of the 18th Transportation Regiment who risked lives to bring in essential supplies on those treacherous roads 9/
I can respect that people have different points of view, and there of course have been tension between ethnic groups. But I will not tolerate those who seeks to twist the facts that I know from 1st hand accounts, or to tarnish and dismiss dedication of the people I love. 10/
My grandpa was the one who encouraged me to always be curious & demanded me to always be factual. He passed away 3 months before my college graduation & that’s still my biggest regret. But in a weird way, I am also glad he’s not here to witness these brazen slanders today. /End
