Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
On January 12, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "The Dalai Lama, Tibet's charismatic spiritual and political leader, is reaching out to the world over the Internet from a remote site in the Indian Himalayas with help from a native Milwaukeean. The Dalai Lama's government-in-exile has launched an official Web site --www.tibet.net -- from Dharamsala, India, where he fled after a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule failed." Dan Haig, 37, is the webmaster for the project. "The Web site...is in four languages -- Tibetan, English, Hindi and Chinese. Although different in several respects, it parallels a growing number of Tibet-oriented Web sites in western countries that have been fueled by rising popular interest in Tibet. 'With the sudden proliferation of Tibet-related Web sites, it is my hope that a virtual Tibetan community can be created in cyberspace, to be freely accessible to everyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan culture and Tibet's present tragic fate,' the Dalai Lama said in a message on one of the site's pages.
The site includes information on the goals of the Tibetan government in exile, allegations of oppressive and abusive actions committed by China in Tibet, and claims of widespread ecological deterioration in the area. The Dalai Lama hopes the site will encourage international support for his cause: "I have always believed that as more unbiased information is made available to the international community, it will become more supportive of the Tibetan cause and will make concerted and sustained efforts to end the suffering of the Tibetan people in Tibet."