Fuck you, western media.
Every time I see/hear someone in the media say China is "cracking down on peaceful protests" I want to hunt them down and force them to watch videos of the "peaceful protests." The Tibetan protesters are/were rioting, setting fire to buildings (often with people still in them) moving in packs and pouncing on Chinese or muslims caught alone and beating them severely, sometimes to death.

And seriously, let's say Tibet _was_ freed. Mind you, it wouldn't be freed, it would be given to the government in exile, an oppressive feudal theocracy. What the fuck to people think would happen? Tibet is a landlocked, barely hospitable region, and they've relied on trade with China for about as long as they've existed in order to survive. But oh, they'll just summon all the food and supplies they need using their Buddhist magic, or something. Never mind, oh, I don't know, FUEL. And what about the non-Tibetans? It's already been shown that the Tibetans are extremely racist and intolerant of others living in their territory. What about them? Don't they count as people too?

The fact of the matter is, though the PRC is far from a paragon of kindness and compassion, Tibet _needs_ to be part of it to survive as a relatively decent region, otherwise it will become a third world country.