By Gregory B. Craig
The Dalai Lama visits Washington this week, and he may be bringing good news to a president sorely in need of it. For the first time in recent years, there is reason to hope that the Chinese are finally willing to consider new ways of resolving the protracted Tibetan problem. Envoys representing the Dalai Lama recently met with the Chinese leadership in Beijing and — over a period of many days filled with many contacts and conversations — discussed all the hot-button issues that have been so intractable for almost 50 years. The talks were candid and the tone was civil. Quietly and almost invisibly, a process of reconciliation may be underway.
For many years American presidents — as well as other friends of Tibet — have urged the Chinese government to begin a dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Perhaps the most dramatic and visible manifestation of this effort came during the joint press conference held in Beijing in June 1998 by Jiang Zemin, then president of China, and Bill Clinton. At the end of the press conference, the two presidents exchanged comments about Tibet. Clinton urged Jiang to meet with the Dalai Lama, saying, “I have spent time with the Dalai Lama. I believe him to be an honest man. I think you will like him.”
At the time, I was working for Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and, among other things, serving as the first special coordinator on Tibet, a position created to reflect the American public’s concern about the Tibetan people and Tibetan issues. Direct contact between the Chinese leadership and the Tibetan side stopped in 1993, but in 1998, partly because of Clinton’s interest in the issue, an informal channel of communication between the Chinese and the Dalai Lama opened up, and things began to look hopeful. There was evidence that Jiang himself was interested in exploring rapprochement with the Dalai Lama. But as the Chinese became more absorbed with their change of leadership, the situation deteriorated. The informal channel was silenced. The human rights situation in Tibet got worse. The personal attacks on the Dalai Lama intensified.
The Dalai Lama is well known and respected — even revered — in the West, and, for that reason, the Chinese government’s campaign of vilification directed against him has always seemed bizarre, if not infantile. It is clear, however, that so long as the Chinese inveigh against him in such a personal way, the hope of opening a dialogue is a faint one at best.
The Dalai Lama has made clear that he no longer seeks independence for Tibet, and that he is committed to “the Middle Way.” He has also said that the concerns of the Tibetan people could be addressed within the framework of the People’s Republic of China. The Dalai Lama has made these statements in reliance upon Deng Xiaoping’s assurance in 1979 that, except for Tibetan independence, everything else could be discussed and resolved. Although still skeptical of the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way approach, the Chinese have never repudiated Deng Xiaoping’s statement.
In 2002 the Chinese invited the Dalai Lama’s elder brother, Gyalo Thondup, to China and Tibet for a private visit. In September 2002 and then again in May and June 2003, they invited a delegation led by the Dalai Lama’s special envoy, Lodi Gyari, to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials, and to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. The trips were, by any measure, successful. Most significant, however, was the change in tone of the Chinese government’s public statements about Tibet and the Dalai Lama.
There are other signs that attitudes may be changing in Beijing. When British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited China in July 2003 — after the second Tibetan delegation had come and gone — he complimented President Hu Jintao on the Chinese government’s decision to receive the Tibetan delegation. With no sign of discomfort or defensiveness, the Chinese president described his experience as party secretary in Tibet, and the two leaders had a long and relaxed conversation about Tibet.
Not known for diplomatic finesse or patience on other issues, this administration deserves credit for both with respect to U.S. policy on Tibet. While consistently expressing concern about threats to Tibetan culture and the plight of the Tibetan people, the administration has also been unambiguous about its support for dialogue. The president’s decision to appoint Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky as special coordinator for Tibet — and to take her with him on his trip to China — deserves high praise. This week Bush will continue the practice first adopted by his father and followed by President Clinton of welcoming the Dalai Lama to the White House.
These are dark and uncertain days in other parts of the world, and a dialogue between the Chinese and the Dalai Lama seems too much to hope for. But the dynamic is there for all to see. Bit by bit, the momentum seems to be growing. Given sufficient political will on both sides, real progress is possible. President Hu Jintao would be well-advised to give serious consideration to taking the next step and agreeing to meet with the Dalai Lama. It would establish the president of China as a world leader willing to take risks for peace and progress — and he could see for himself that the Dalai Lama is actually a great guy.
The writer, a Washington lawyer, served in the State Department in the Clinton administration.
