Another issue, which has infuriated China, is the consideration shown to the Dalai Lama, particular his recent meeting with Obama.
As in the case of US arms sales to Taiwan, China has recently stepped up its rhetoric and adopted a more belligerent tone.
For China, the Dalai Lama is a traitor to the motherland and a monk in wolf’s clothing.
By any dispassionate analysis, though, China appears terribly paranoid about the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan issue.
In all the on-off meetings between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and the Chinese side, his delegation has done little more than press for greater autonomy for Tibet.
The extent of that autonomy is likely to be determined by China’s ability to accommodate the Tibetan leader. In other words, there is no disagreement on the core issue of China’s sovereignty, as China will continue to control Tibet’s defense and foreign policies as well as the issuance of Chinese currency.
The crux of the matter is that Beijing doesn’t trust the Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama is 74 and the Chinese are wishing him an early ascension to heaven because that will allow them to appoint their own Dalai Lama, which it is hoped will finally resolve the Tibetan problem once and for all.
They consider him the source of all China’s problems on Tibet, an instigator of unrest in the region as well as an important rallying point for world support.
During his recent Australian tour, the Dalai Lama gave some inkling as to the future shape of the Tibetan movement in exile.
In an informal chat with an Australian journalist, Joyce Morgan, he said that, in the short term (while he is still alive) it might be possible to appoint a senior figure as an interim leader just “like a deputy Dalai Lama.”
He maintained, though, that no decision has yet been made.
Regarding the future (his re-incarnation after his death), the Dalai Lama said that since the very purpose of reincarnation is to continue the unfinished work of the previous incarnation, it is only logical that he will be born in exile to continue his unfinished work. In other words, the Dalai Lama is already working to de-legitimize China’s plans to appoint his successor after his death.
Considering his enormous moral authority, China will be forced to wrestle with the Tibetan question for the foreseeable future.
On the other hand, given that the Dalai Lama is so keen to resolve the Tibetan issue on the basis of autonomy — with Tibet remaining part of China — it makes more sense for Beijing to seek a resolution to the issue while he is still alive.
In other words, in the case of both Taiwan and Tibet, China’s problems are self-inflicted, based on chauvinism, paranoia and stubbornness. Blaming the US for its own mistakes only serves to complicate matters even more.
Sushil Seth is a writer based in Australia.
RSS