China Yields to Pressure and OKs Meeting with Tibetan Opposition
Weeks of international pressure after the crack down in Tibet have finally forced the Chinese government to accept a dialogue with representatives of the Dalai Lama, according to Xinhua, the country's official news agency.
The move signals a tacit acknowledgment by Beijing that the international PR nightmare the run of the torch had become after the Tibetan crisis and the nationalistic fervor it triggered in China proved too much for the country's world image.
At least five people were arrested and four were slightly injured today in Nagano, Japan, during the run of the torch, which was guarded by a police force of more than 3,000.
“In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” the Xinhua dispatch said.
After the Tibetan protests and the international support they garnered, the Chinese government rejected any talks with the Tibetan opposition and directed its wrath at the Dalai Lama, accusing him of masterminding the uprising. The government had called the Tibetan spiritual leader a "jackal clad in Buddhist monk's robes and an evil spirit with a human face and the heart of a beast."
The revolt caused the deaths of 20 people, according to the official count, and 120 according to the Tibetan government in exile.
But the olive branch comes with several strings attached. The announcement says the dialogue will take place as long as the Dalai Lama "takes credible steps to put an end to activities aiming at dividing China, stops conspiring and inciting violence, and desists from attempts to interrupt and sabotage the Olympic Games".
A Dalai Lama spokesperson welcomed the move calling it "a step in the right direction as only face-to-face meetings can lead to the solution of the Tibetan issue."
But added that the offer "shouldn't be just for the sake of saying it. They should really mean it and there shouldn't be preconditions."
The move signals a tacit acknowledgment by Beijing that the international PR nightmare the run of the torch had become after the Tibetan crisis and the nationalistic fervor it triggered in China proved too much for the country's world image.
At least five people were arrested and four were slightly injured today in Nagano, Japan, during the run of the torch, which was guarded by a police force of more than 3,000.
“In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” the Xinhua dispatch said.
After the Tibetan protests and the international support they garnered, the Chinese government rejected any talks with the Tibetan opposition and directed its wrath at the Dalai Lama, accusing him of masterminding the uprising. The government had called the Tibetan spiritual leader a "jackal clad in Buddhist monk's robes and an evil spirit with a human face and the heart of a beast."
The revolt caused the deaths of 20 people, according to the official count, and 120 according to the Tibetan government in exile.
But the olive branch comes with several strings attached. The announcement says the dialogue will take place as long as the Dalai Lama "takes credible steps to put an end to activities aiming at dividing China, stops conspiring and inciting violence, and desists from attempts to interrupt and sabotage the Olympic Games".
A Dalai Lama spokesperson welcomed the move calling it "a step in the right direction as only face-to-face meetings can lead to the solution of the Tibetan issue."
But added that the offer "shouldn't be just for the sake of saying it. They should really mean it and there shouldn't be preconditions."
posted by Marco Polo at
Saturday, April 26, 2008
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