In the aftermath of the crackdown in Tibet, Chinese internet bulletin boards have become virtual hate sites. In hundreds of thousands of postings, Han Chinese hurl obscenities against Tibetans, condemn foreign governments for “interfering in China’s internal affairs,” and accuse the Western media of “twisting the facts.” They express “resolute support” for the government’s action. Some even call for tougher measures to deal with the “splittists” in order to defend China’s territorial glory. In the absence of a free press, what Chinese citizens know of the Tibet crackdown is filtered through the lens of the state propaganda machine, which defines, in report after report, “the truth” of the March 14 Lhasa Incident as “a serious violent crime involving beating, smashing, looting, and burning” that was orchestrated by the “Dalai clique” in cahoots with “hostile external elements.” Through its control of the media and the Internet, the Chinese government is, in effect, manipulating the nationalist sentiments of the Han, a group constituting more than 90 percent of the population. By professing to be the guardian of territorial integrity and national pride, it is reinforcing its claim to legitimacy. The late Chinese dissident writer Liu Binyan once said: