We are given this image of Tibet being an idylic mountain paradise where everyone is a monk with a funny hairdo, colouful gowns and something slightly dodgy to smoke. And those nasty chinese are trying to spoil it all.

Whereas I don't very much like the sound of the Chinese, with their political oppression and propensity to execute, I also like to err on the side of not trusting religious types. Who elected the Dalai Llama?

Of the smuggled footage that have been shown on our TVs over the weekend, for me the most distasteful was of a mob kicking, beating and stoning a man for no other reason than he was Chinese.

That's racism. If the Chinese authorities come down hard on such behaviour, who can blame them?

Yes, we need political reform in China but we should be wary of backing groups whose motivation is religious - we've made that mistake before.

I suspect that the thing that Tibetan and Chinese leaders have in common is that they're not that keen on democracy and human rights.