In the past few months, several heads of state have received the Dalai Lama and indirect exchanges between Beijing and the religious leader have focused more attention on Tibet than it has seen for years. The [for Beijing] unwelcome attention has incensed Chinese authorities and sparked a nonstop flow of propagandist denunciations and threats that have done little more than erode the country's credibility abroad at a time when everything from child labor money-making schemes at public schools to toys laced with lead have severely tarnished its reputation.
China's invective against a man who has won the Nobel Peace Prize and advocates peaceful dialogue can only fail miserably, but Beijing has displayed a distinct lack of strategic deftness in handling the matter, doing itself the disservice of repeatedly stirring up the issue.
On Nov. 28, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao (
Again, China would have been better off keeping quiet. Its comment only highlighted blatant contradictions in its actions and again landed its "Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of the Living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism" in international news. The measures, passed this summer, stipulate that the Chinese government has sole authority in selecting the reincarnations that are central to the religion.
A week later, the Dalai Lama proposed holding a referendum -- including Tibetans in China -- over the issue of his next incarnation. But China, which calls itself "the people's democratic dictatorship" in its Constitution, quickly made it clear it would never allow a plebiscite.
Beijing has yet to understand that its rhetoric doesn't have the same effect in democratic countries as it does with Chinese who have been force-fed a skewed view of reality from grade school on. Instead, Beijing is fueling a public opinion abroad that is a mirror opposite of the image it wants to promote.
But perhaps China believes its rhetoric to be effective. After all, many people in the West incorrectly believe the Dalai Lama demands independence for Tibet -- a claim China repeatedly makes. That widespread misunderstanding, however, probably has less to do with the efficacy of Beijing's propaganda overseas and more to do with the frequent news of abuses in Tibet. Only two weeks ago, hundreds of Tibetans clashed with authorities after police reportedly brutally beat three young monks, one of whom, a 14-year-old, was caught wearing a photo of the Dalai Lama around his neck. For those of us who value democracy and human rights, it is hard to believe Tibetans would want anything less than full independence.
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
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