The Guardian has a liberal-leftist tilt, so they are against everything all the time. I wouldn't trust Isabelle Hilton right away. Look at her credential(s): She is teh author of The Search For Panchen Lama. She obviously knows a lot about Tibet but you can't say the same thing about her knoeldge of China and Nepal. The Guardian needed someone to write an op-ed piece, so they approached her, and she did her best (or worst). If the coomunication channels were working in Nepal, Kunda Dixt or some senior Nepali jouralist would have wriiten for the Guardian. If I remember correctly from my reading of the Guardian, a few days ago she had written a not so informed piece on Zhao Ziyang, the recetly dead CCP leader.