China 'extending' its internal affairs

Visas for China's critics have also come under Beijing's scrutiny. A few days ago, China tried to prevent the environmental activist Dai Qing and the writer Bei Ling from visiting Germany to take part in a symposium leading up to the Frankfurt Book Fair.

When the two showed up for the forum on Saturday, the entire Chinese delegation walked out in protest. China is this year's guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The United States, of course, has been a major Chinese target. Former President George W. Bush met repeatedly with the Dalai Lama and, in 2007, was present when the Tibetan received the Congressional Gold Medal.

In recent months, Australia has borne the brunt of Chinese ire, largely because it allowed Rebiya Kadeer to visit while the Melbourne film festival screened a documentary about the exiled Uighur leader. The screening went ahead even though a Chinese diplomat telephoned the festival's director demanding that the film be dropped. Some Australians saw this as interference in their country's domestic affairs.

Canada was told recently that it was back in China's good graces. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in June that the key to success was “not to interfere in other countries' internal affairs,” which was taken to mean an end to criticism of China's human rights practices.

The Dalai Lama is visiting the U.S. next month and President Barack Obama sent representatives to Dharmasala to discuss this issue. It was decided that he will not meet the Tibetan leader this time, apparently because Washington wants to ensure the success of his visit to China in November.

In the end, just as China decides what constitutes its internal affairs, other countries will have to decide where China's domestic affairs end and their own internal affairs begin.

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