Dalai Lama, Secessionist Agitator

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 6/13/2007 01:09:00 AM
The Dalai Lama is currently in Australia for an eleven day visit. Naturally, China is not pleased with this visit, as it never is with its most famous exile. Meeting him in the land of Oz are the two main contenders vying to be Australia's prime minister, incumbent John Howard and Kevin Rudd of the opposition Labor party. It was only after Rudd decided to meet the Dalai Lama that John Howard decided to do the same, raising China's ire. As you know, China has long regarded the 14th Dalai Lama--Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1989 for advocating a peaceful resolution to the Tibet issue--as some kind of renegade hooligan:

China on Tuesday expressed its disapproval of a visit to Australia by the Dalai Lama whom it accused of engaging in secessionist activities.

"China has expressed to Australian leaders its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the Dalai Lama's visit which runs counter to China's wishes," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a regular press conference.

The Dalai Lama is not only a religious figure but also a long-time political exile who is engaged in activities aimed at splitting the motherland sabotaging national unity, Qin said.

The Chinese government is firmly against any country allowing the Dalai Lama to engage in secessionist activities on their territories, Qin added...

"The Tibet issue is not a human rights issue but an issue of secession and anti-secession. We hope the Australian government would fully realize this and refrain from offering facilities and conveniences for Dalai Lama's secessionist activities," he said.

At first, Howard's party depicted the Dalai Lama's meeting with Rudd as a Labor political stunt:

Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd is only meeting with the Dalai Lama as a political stunt, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer says.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who is on an 11-day tour of Australia, has a scheduled meeting with the Labor leader in Canberra today.

The Government had labelled Mr Rudd hypocritical for refusing to meet the popular leader after he criticised Mr Howard and Mr Downer for not meeting him during a visit to Australia five years ago.

"[Mr Rudd] said this year that he wouldn't meet with the Dalai Lama and then two days later he said he would," Mr Downer told ABC radio today.

"I think it just is a reflection of the fact that Mr Rudd just plays politics the whole time."

However, John Howard agreeing to meet the Dalai Lama as well brought protestations from the Chinese as noted above. China's bellyaching is important to Australia as China is now Oz's largest trading partner. Presumably, China's huge appetite for natural resources has fueled this export boom. Consider also that while China brands the Dalai Lama a "splittist" (dontcha just love that term?), he actually advocates engagement with China in the belief that better international ties can lead to improvements in human rights there--particularly Tibet:

The Dalai Lama warned nations on Tuesday not to try to contain China's economic and military emergence, but urged countries such as Australia to use their trading clout to pressure Beijing on human rights.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, speaking in Canberra, said he shared concerns about growing strategic and trade ties between the United States, India, Japan and Australia, which Beijing has interpreted as moves towards encirclement.

He was warmly greeted by supporters outside the National Press Club.

He was mobbed as he entered the building and received a rare standing ovation as he took his seat beside Australian Greens leader Bob Brown.

"It is absolutely wrong to isolate China and also contain China. It's wrong, morally also wrong," the Dalai Lama told the press club.

"China must be brought into the mainstream of the world community, and now fortunately China themselves want to join the world community. Most welcome. Very good.

"However ... while you are making good relations, genuine friendship with China, certain principles such as human rights and also democracy, rule of law, free press, these things you should stand firm. That means you are a true friend of China."

The United States, Japan and Australia have said their growing defence ties are not aimed at containing China.

China has overtaken Japan as Australia's biggest trading partner, although Canberra's strategic interests are closely allied with those of Washington.

Australia's statistics office said last month that the nation's trade with China had hit $52.7 billion in the year to March, slightly surpassing bilateral exchanges with Japan as energy-hungry China's demand for Australian resources continued.

The Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers a separatist, admitted China's fast-growing world influence was hampering his access to some world leaders to press demands for greater autonomy, not independence, for his predominantly Buddhist homeland.

But support for an autonomous Tibet was growing in the United States and some small European nations, he said, although some nations were understandably reluctant to cross China.

"I think the more serious concern, I think the public sympathy, public concern, it seems like it's increasing," the Dalai Lama said, adding that he was unconcerned if he did not secure a meeting with Howard.

"In my mind it's not that serious, but in their mind it seems very, very serious," he said.

The 71-year-old Dalai Lama has led a Tibetan government-in-exile in India since 1959. Chinese troops took over the Himalayan region in 1950.

China has bristled for years at the Dalai Lama's enormous international following. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent approach to handling relations with China.

Beijing has refused to allow him to return to Tibet, where he remains revered as Tibetan Buddhism's highest spiritual authority.

Howard and opposition Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd initially said they would not meet the Dalai Lama during his visit to Australia, which began last week.

But following accusations of kowtowing to China, they both said they would check their diaries to see whether they had time to meet him.

Rudd, a Putonghua-speaking former diplomat in China, soon after announced that he would meet the Dalai Lama, but until today Howard was said to be still "checking his diary.'' [Such touching concern about Tibet, Mr. Howard.]