Blessings from Beijing

As we approach the sixtieth anniversary of Chinas 1959 invasion of Tibet - and the subsequent creation of the Tibetan exile community - the question of the diasporas survival looms large. Beijings foreign policy has grown more adventurous, particularly since the post-Olympic expansion of 2008. As the pressure mounts, Tibetan refugee families that have made their homes outside China - in the mountains of Nepal, the jungles of India, or the cold concrete houses high above the Dalai Lamas monastery in Dharamsala - are migrating once again. Blessings from Beijing untangles the chains that tie Tibetans to China and examines the political, social, and economic pressures that are threatening to destroy Tibets refugee communities. Journalist Greg Bruno has spent nearly two decades living and working in Tibetan areas. Bruno journeys to the front lines of this fight: to the high Himalayas of Nepal, where Chinese agents pay off Nepali villagers to inform on Tibetan asylum seekers; to the monasteries of southern India, where pro-China monks wish the Dalai Lama dead; to Asias meditation caves, where lost souls ponder the fine line between love and war; and to the streets of New York City, where the next generation of refugees strategizes about how to survive Chinas relentless assault. But Brunos reporting does not stop at well-worn tales of Chinese meddling and political intervention. It goes beyond themand within them - to explore how Chinas strategy is changing the Tibetan exile community forever.