Tibet, China and the protestors

There are lots of protests worldwide over the state of Tibet and Chinese oppression there now that they are taking the Olympic torch city to city. One thinks, would these people protest so much if Tibet was free but China was still a dictatorship oppressing its own people? I don't think so. One wonders! Are Chinese people not as important as Tibetans? Is a government allowed to oppress its own people as much as it wants, without facing any opposition abroad? Why nobody talks about the plight of the Chinese dissenters inside China? Aren't they human?