On autonomy for the Tibetan people

Since the two sides had a totally different understanding of the nature of the talks, it was unsurprising they could not reach agreement.

The Dalai Lama’s representatives wanted to discuss the situation in Tibet — where riots took place in March — and genuine autonomy for the region.

However, the Chinese government insists there is no Tibet problem and says it represents the interests of all ethnic minorities, including Tibetans. The Tibetan government-in-exile is only “a product created by a small group of separatists who launched an armed rebellion in 1959.”

However, Beijing’s position is ambiguous. It says that talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives can only be about his own future role. But in July, Chinese officials actually invited views on the degree or form of autonomy the Dalai Lama is seeking.

Hence, his representatives this time around presented a “Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People” which called, among other things, for a single administrative entity governing all areas inhabited by Tibetans — an area roughly a fourth of China’s territory.

The memorandum also called for Tibetans to create their own regional government with the central government in Beijing that is powerless to abrogate or change Tibetan decisions.

These proposals were rejected out of hand by Beijing, with Chinese officials seeing such ideas as but thinly disguised attempts at independence.

At a press conference announcing the failure of the talks, Chinese officials said the Tibetan leader should “completely give up his ideas and actions to split China.”

It appears that China, which sent additional troops into Tibet after the disturbances, believes that it has the situation under control. It sees the Dalai Lama himself as the root of the problem and, now that he is 73 and ailing, Beijing thinks it is just a matter of time before he dies and the problem solved.

The latest meeting was the third such round this year. In May, China agreed to resume talks, which had not been held since 2006, after calls from American and European leaders in the wake of disturbances in Tibetan areas and a Chinese military crackdown.

Renewal of the dialogue was sufficient to keep Western leaders quiet. Now, with the Olympics over, Beijing evidently sees little need to keep talking, although Chinese officials insist the door is always open if the Dalai Lama wishes to “return to a patriotic stance.”

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email