WTF?

[winterbadger]

Beijing has strongly urged US President George W Bush to cancel a planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, saying it would "seriously damage" relations.

Mr Bush is due to host Tibet's spiritual leader at the White House.

On Wednesday, Mr Bush is due to attend a ceremony at the US Capitol where the Dalai Lama will receive a Congressional Gold Medal, a top US civilian award.

It will be the first time a sitting president will have appeared in public with the 72-year-old Buddhist leader.

I'm horrified by that last piece of information, but pleased that--if he does nothing else of value in his term as president--George Bush will have repaired that mistake.

I completely fail to understand how this country can continue to have normal relations with China, given that they invaded and seized another country and are attempting to ethnically cleanse it (and parts of China with non-Chinese populations) by suppressing their language and culture and religion and importing settlers. These are things that the US did in the 18th and 19th centuries to Native Americans and is deeply ashamed of now; how can we stand by and tolerate it in China?

Well, apparently we're OK with it in Israel, so I guess China is just a matter of scale... :-(

Comments

[peaceful-fox.livejournal.com]

I am so boggled by this. I can't think of a person as benign as the Dalai Lama.

[keethrax.livejournal.com]

I can think of lots. At least if you consider the rest of the government he represents. The Dalai Lama himself may qualify, but he represents a very oppressive regime that was thrown out by the Chinese. Sure, they were even worse, but that doesn't make the old Tibetan gov't good. Just less bad.

Were they better than the Chinese occupation? Sure. But hardly benign. By my reading, despite the post-occupation claims of the Tibetan gov't that they would have modernized, they were *always* steadfastly opposed to any form of modernization or social reform that would give the serfdom that made up a large chunk (the gov't in exile claims the # is much smaller than the Chinese claim, but US documents from pre-occupation put the # at much closer to the PRC claims than to the Tibetan gov't in exile's claims) of the population any significant improvements in rights.

They're really only "good guys" by relative comparison to the occupiers, who by any measurement are certainly "bad guys".

[winterbadger]

The Chinese are protesting against the US recognising the Dalai Lama for his *PEACEFUL* efforts to protest the Chinese military occupation of his country and blatant suppression of free speech, movement of free peoples, and ethnic/religious/linguistic freedom.

No one is proposing giving medals to the civil rulers that governed Tibet FIFTY years ago when it suffered an unprovoked invasion by China. The man being honoured by this medal is committed to nonviolence and religious and political freedom. For the Chinese to object to this is outrageous. Their record of kidnapping, murder, and ethnic cleansing is atrocious, and to hear them speak, with the blood of innocents fresh on their hands, of "justice" or "good people" should, I would have hoped, be revolting to anyone of conscience. I'm disappointed by this kind of Pilate-like temporising on your part.

[keethrax.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything you said.

I was only commenting on the:

"I can't think of a person as benign as the Dalai Lama."

In no way does saying that I disagree that the Dalai Lama (or at least the gov't represented by said person) is benign mean that I do agree with anything the Chinese have done.

[winterbadger]

I still boggle at thinking the Dalia Lama is not as benign as they come.

[schizokitty.livejournal.com]

Well, apparently we're OK with it in Israel, so I guess China is just a matter of scale...

Completely a matter of scale. For one thing, we're too dependent on our trade relations with them to want to raise too much of a stink. For another, China is not only belligerent and irrational, it is fucking huge. I bet even Cheney soils himself when he thinks of seriously pissing off China. >:-O

[winterbadger]

Oh, I think Cheney believes he's immortal (despite medicale vidence tot he contrary...)