Posted on 03/20/2008 4:19:33 PM PDT by knighthawk
What is the Chinese view of the Dalai Lama? Wen Jiabao, the premier, has said that the rioting by Tibetans was "organised, premeditated, masterminded and incited by the Dalai clique", whose claims to be pursuing not independence but peaceful dialogue "are nothing but lies".
Zhang Qingli, the Communist Party secretary in Tibet, has described the Dalai Lama as "a wolf in monk's robes, a devil with a human face but the heart of a beast".
Yet Wednesday Mr Wen told Gordon Brown by phone that he would be prepared to enter into dialogue with the exiled Tibetan leader if he renounced violence and did not advocate independence for Tibet. As the premier well knows, those two conditions have already been met. So when will the talks begin?
The likelihood is that they won't. Mr Wen is trying to show the outside world the "soft" face of Chinese power, an indication that the party is concerned about its image in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics.
Mr Zhang exemplifies the "hard" face directed against dissidents at home. The second approach will probably prevail. China's political system is unable to accommodate dissent. Expect Beijing, therefore, to crush the Tibetan revolt as quickly as it can.
The party is shooting itself in the foot by demonising a man who is the living embodiment of peace. Agreeing to negotiate on the genuine autonomy that the Dalai Lama seeks would not necessarily win over all Tibetans; the exiled youth congress, for example, wants independence and accepts violence as a means to that end. But, given the Dalai Lama's spiritual authority over his followers in China, it would take the sting out of the revolt.
Instead, the party, in the person of Mr Zhang, has chosen to defame him with a grotesque caricature. Beijing's brutality has been noted in Taiwan, where the frontrunner in Saturday's presidential election, who supports eventual reunification, has been forced on to the back foot.
Happily, it has also convinced Mr Brown that he should receive the Dalai Lama, possibly during his visit to London next month. So much for China's ability to win friends and influence people.
Ping
funny thing about pacifism. non violent protests only work against an adversary who has morality (the west) if your adversary it is impossible to shame them with pacifism.
bttt
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