China sticks to hard line with Dalai Lama’s envoys, refuses to discuss change to Tibet status
By Gillian Wong, APMonday, February 1, 2010
China sticks to hard line in talks on Tibet
BEIJING — China stuck to its hard line in its first talks with Tibetan envoys in 15 months, refusing to discuss changes to the Himalayan region’s status and thus dashing hopes of a breakthrough.
Chinese negotiator Du Qinglin said Monday he told the Dalai Lama’s representatives that Beijing was only willing to address the future of the exiled spiritual leader — not any greater autonomy for Tibet.
Du, head of the United Front Department of the Communist Party, the government department that handles the talks, said China’s national interest was inviolable, and “there can be no room for discussion, no room for compromise” on territorial issues.
China maintains that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history.
At the last talks in 2008, the Dalai Lama’s envoys proposed a way for Tibetans to achieve more autonomy under the Chinese constitution — a key demand of the minority community. But China apparently rejected the plan, saying it would not allow Tibet the kind of latitude granted to the territories of Hong Kong and Macau. Chinese officials said they were only willing to discuss the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in 1959.
The Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala, India, said last week it hoped the two sides would be able to revisit the proposal for greater autonomy. But Du’s remarks, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency and posted on the United Front Department’s Web site, made clear there was no such progress.
“The only thing there is to discuss, on the premise that you give up separatist words and actions, is the future of the Dalai Lama and the people around him,” Du said. “We hope the Dalai Lama will face reality squarely and return to the patriotic stance.”
Beijing demonizes the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and says he seeks to destroy China’s sovereignty by pushing independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama has maintained for decades he wants some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion under China’s rule, not independence.
Du said the exiles’ calls for a “greater Tibet” incorporating all Tibetan-inhabited areas, a region occupying about one-quarter of China’s total territory, and a higher level of autonomy violated the Chinese constitution. He said only if the Dalai Lama abandoned such requests could there be a basis for contact.
But the Dalai Lama has always sought an arrangement “where Tibet can enjoy genuine autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution,” said Thubten Samphel, the spokesman of the government-in-exile in Dharmsala.
The Dalai Lama’s envoys, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, returned to India early Monday after meeting officials in Beijing over the weekend, according to Chhime R. Chhoekyapa, the Dalai Lama’s secretary.
Details about the discussions from the Tibetan delegation were not immediately available. After arriving in the Indian capital, the two envoys were expected to go to the northern Indian hill town of Dharmsala to brief the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile, Samdhong Rinpoche, on the talks, he said.
Tibetan areas have been tense in recent years, with the minority community complaining about restrictions on Buddhism, government propaganda campaigns against their revered Dalai Lama, and an influx of Chinese migrants that leave Tibetans feeling marginalized. Those feelings boiled over in deadly anti-Chinese riots in 2008 that shocked Beijing’s leaders.
China’s decision to hold the talks could have been prompted by signals from U.S. officials in recent weeks that Obama might soon meet the exiled Tibetan leader — something Chinese officials are keen to avoid before President Hu Jintao travels to Washington, possibly in April. The new talks were welcomed by the United States, Britain and Canada.
Associated Press writer Muneeza Naqvi contributed to this report from New Delhi.
Tags: Asia, Beijing, China, East Asia, Greater China, Hu Jintao, India, North America, South Asia, Tibet, United States
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February 15, 2010: 12:23 pm
Open Letter to President Barack Obama Dear President Obama: It has been announced that on February 18, 2010, you plan to receive Tenzin Gyatzo (doing business as The Dalai Lama) at the White House. The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Laureate, is believed by many to be a spiritual leader and political leader (in exile) of Tibet and proponent of Human Rights for Tibet. This is the putative reason why he is being invited to the White House. Usually, this would be considered a good idea to invite the political leader of a country especially one who is considered a spiritual leader and who espouses peace. However, in this case, it would be a very bad idea as The Dalai Lama is an imposter of the greatest magnitude who has deluded legions into falsely believing that he is some kind of prophet, but he is a false prophet. The Dalai Lama may be a political leader in exile of Tibet, but he was never elected. Instead, he was appointed by a group of religious or aristocratic elite of slave masters who called themselves; “The Lamas”. The Lamas perverted the very meaning of religion. Instead of spreading the message of love, compassion, equality, and brotherhood, they told themselves and others that they were chosen by God to be the elite. They told themselves that they were to be treated not as equals, but rather as masters with the power of life and death or others. Anyone in Tibet, who wasn’t a “Lama” or aristocrat, could then be used as serfs and slaves. These Lamas or slave masters were not ordinary slave masters, but rather a very cruel variety of slave owners. Both child and adult slaves of the Lamas were routinely sexually abused and often tortured. Disobedient slaves were flogged and mutilated as well as put to death. Very conveniently, the Lamas considered The Dalai Lama’s background of presiding over a slave state sounds more like he presided over of a Nazi state than of a spiritual Hollywood-like “Shangri-La” state. This is unfortunately not a metaphor as the Dalai Lama has close times to Nazis. In particular, The Dalai Lama has a close association with an unrepentant convicted Nazi War Criminal, who was convicted of conducting inhumane medical experiments on inmates at the Nazi Death Camp at Auschwitz. This same Nazi was a member of Adolph Hitler’s Body Guard and Death Squad called The Nazi SS. The Dalai Lama also had close ties to another unrepentant member of Hitler’s Body Guard (The SS) and Nazi Storm troopers (The SA) (See The New York Times, June 6, 1997). This particular Nazi was friends with Adolph Hitler himself and had a photo op taken with Hitler (Der Spiegel, No. 45, 3 Nov 3, 1997, p. 146) and had received permission for marriage from the head of the Nazi Gestapo, Heinrich Himmler. The Dalai Lama’s ties to violent terrorists doesn’t end there as he has ties with other present day Nazis, has promoted the mass murderer, the “Tokyo Subway Poisoner” who as reported by Salon.com (July 3, 1998) had given over a million dollars to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has also championed brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet, who in addition to killing thousands of innocent civilians in Chile, had ordered terrorist bombings to take place in Washington and then threatened the lives of investigating FBI agents and their families. If this were not bad enough, “His Holiness”, The Dalai Lama led a terrorist organization aimed at beginning a “Holy War” against the Chinese, as according to the New York Times article dated October 2, 1998. There are those who say that the Dalai Lama has close ties with dictators, terrorists and Nazi war criminals because he, as a “great spiritual leader” has granted absolution and forgiven them for their crimes against humanity. However, who has forgiven The Dalai Lama? The Dalai Lama has no standing, as a former slave master who was appointed to office by other slave masters, and also the head of a terrorist organization, to grant any absolution to anyone, especially to himself. This is especially so since these Nazis and terrorists have shown no remorse nor taken any responsibility for their violent and criminal actions. Mr. President, many who urge you to meet with the Dalai Lama say if you don’t meet with him, you are “caving into China” because the Dalai Lama is purportedly some kind of Human Rights activist for Tibet. This is really a non-argument as the Dalai Lama shows much more concern for slave owners, brutal Nazi SS officers, wealthy terrorists, and dictators, than he does for real Human Rights. Whether the Dalai Lama purports to be proponent of Human Rights for Tibet or not, is just not relevant, as the Dalai Lama is a fraud with a terrorist background. If you want to truly engage China about Human Rights, the answer is not to meet with a fake spiritual leader with Nazi and terrorist ties. Meeting with The Dalai Lama could suggest legitimacy to the Dalai Lama and lend credibility where none exists for this religious charlatan. This is the cynical kind of misleading politics played by the Bush-Cheney regime with disastrous results. The way to engage Mr. President, there is something to be gained in all of this: which is that acting out the precepts of love, compassion, equality, and brotherhood instead of just talking about it and doing the opposite as the Dalai Lama does. Acting out these concepts and making them part of the social and political, and economic life can bring the necessary beneficial change to our country, to China, Tibet and to the entire planet. I therefore ask that you withdraw the invitation to this hypocrite, the Dalai Lama and show the world that the United States is not willing to collude with dishonest and opportunistic religious hypocrites who seek only selfish gains, but rather that the United States instead is ready to act on its good intentions instead of just talking about them. Yours very truly, Loren Christian |
Loren Christian