Beijing Won't Accept Dalai Lama Terms
(By Gautam Datt | The Asian Age | July 20, 2004)
Beijing: It might have opened the window of holding a dialogue with him, but Beijing refuses to budge from its often stated position that the Dalai Lama is not welcome here unless he accepts that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of China. Beijing hopes that the Dalai Lama will give up his stand on the Tibet issue and will not abandon his motherland.
But there has been an opening. The Dalai Lama's two envoys, his representative in Washington, Lodi Gyari, and the one in Brussels, Kelsang Gyaltsen, are preparing to visit China for the third round of talks in the coming months. This visit is a follow up on the two trips made by his representatives to China earlier. Talking about hosting the representatives of the Dalai Lama, assistance minister in the Chinese foreign office Mr Shen Guofang said that these people were given the chance to see for themselves how Tibet has changed over the years. Some people around the Dalai Lama saw for themselves how the people of Tibet enjoy full freedom including religious freedom, he said.
Even as the exiled Tibetan community may be feeling that there has been some progress towards a possible settlement, China wants them to see the transformation of the region engineered by it. Because all these people left a long time ago and have no idea what the central government has done to improve the condition of Tibet, said Mr Shen. Mr Tenzin Ganpa, head of the China Tibetology Research Centre, Beijing, echoed this view. He said that the people of the Tibetan autonomous region enjoy full freedom and have accomplished a lot in the last several years. He gave out a detailed presentation on the work done by the Chinese government in the last 50 years to preserve Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism.
But the view from outside is not as rosy as painted by Mr Tenzin Ganpa who heads the sprawling institute run by the Chinese government. Reports by independent groups based outside China have constantly brought to light the Chinese government's attempt to wage an organised war on Buddhism in Tibet. The Chinese government has outlined its Tibet policy in a white paper released here in May that rejects other solutions. Despite the Dalai Lama's position, Beijing is not prepared to ignore him. Mr Shen said that China can have talks with the Dalai Lama and hoped that he will return to his motherland by recognising that Tibet and Taiwan are parts of China and stop all his activities to split the country. Beijing does not accept the Dalai Lama's position that he was not seeking independence but only autonomy. His final purpose is independence and he has not abandoned his position, said Mr Shen.
Friends of Tibet (INDIA),
PO Box 16674, Bombay 400050
www.friendsoftibet.org