By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, April 28: China on Friday said it would talk only with the representatives of the Dalai Lama and not the officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile, also ruling out dialogue on the long-pending demand for autonomy for Tibetan people.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin refuted reports of back-channel discussions between the Tibetan government-in-exile and the Chinese government by categorizing the Tibetan government-in-exile, headquartered in Dharamshala, as a “separatist” entity, during a press briefing in Beijing.
Wang stated that “The so-called ‘Tibetan government-in-exile’ is an entirely organised separatist political group with a political platform and an agenda for ‘Tibetan independence.’ It is an illegal organisation that violates China’s Constitution and laws. No country in the world recognises it,” Wang said.
Elaborating on China’s stand, Wang said the Chinese government has two basic principles when it comes to contact and talks. “First, we would only have contact and talks with the personal representative of the 14th Dalai Lama, not the so-called ‘Tibetan government-in-exile’ or the ‘Central Tibetan Administration.’ The Chinese government will not be dealing with it,” he said.
“Second, any contact or talks will only be about the personal future of the 14th Dalai Lama himself, or to the utmost extent, a handful of people close to him, not the so-called ‘high degree of autonomy for Tibet,’ Wang added.
He further stated “We hope the 14th Dalai Lama will have a right understanding of the central government’s policy, seriously reflect on and thoroughly correct its political propositions and actions, give up any activity aimed to disrupt the social order in Xizang (Tibet) and return to the right path. Only then can contact and talks be considered next,” he said. China calls Tibet as Xizang in its efforts to sinicize the name of Tibet on the global stage.
The Dalai Lama has, time and again, denied aspiration for independence, and instead called for autonomy for Tibet, which has subsequently been bifurcated into various prefectures by the Chinese government after taking it over in 1951.
On Thursday, Sikyong or the political head of Tibet’s government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, told a visiting group of journalists in Dharamshala, India, “We have had back-channel (engagement) since last year. But we have no immediate expectations from it. It has to be a long-term (one).” Insisting that the talks are “very informal,” the head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said, “I have my interlocutor who deals with people in Beijing. Then, there are other elements also trying to reach out to us.”
His cabinet minister for Information and International Relations Minister Norzin Dolma on Thursday reaffirmed that there are back-channel talks with China that are aimed at reviving the overall dialogue process as it is the only way out to resolve the Tibetan issue.
The dialogue between Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama began with fact-finding Tibetan delegations visiting Tibet in 1979 and 1980, followed by exploratory talks in Beijing in 1982 and 1984. From 2002 onwards, nine rounds of discussions took place between envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and China’s United Front Work Department.
Throughout these talks, the Tibetan delegation advocated for genuine autonomy for Tibet by Chinese constitutional principles and the Law on Regional National Autonomy, culminating in the presentation of a Memorandum and Note to the Chinese leadership. However, the ninth and final round of talks occurred in 2010 and 2012, the Dalai Lama’s envoys resigned after the ninth round, citing the deteriorating situation in Tibet and a perceived lack of sincerity and willingness from the Chinese side.
One Response
The unexpected pronouncements by the CCP is another political gimmick after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to China. It is just another play to the gallery in deference to the Americans. One reason could be the strong presence of Rangzen advocates in the parliament and the CCP is obviously not happy. Therefore, in order to indirectly attack these independence advocates, it goes around to attack the CTA by unnecessarily calling it separatist! The CCP has weaponised separatism with any criticism against the regime. It’s very much like how Israel has weaponised anti-semitism which encompasses any criticism of Israel! We saw how the Tibetans in Derge were carrying the CCP flag while they gathered to ask the Chinese authorities to stop the construction of hydroelectric dam across the Drichu river! It’s to make sure that they are not accused of separatism. The CCP doesn’t care two-hoots about the Tibetan people or their welbeing. They have illegally occupied Tibet to plunder the rich natural resources and even the hydroelectricity is not for the use of the local Tibetans but for the Chinese themselves in China. The Chinese attitude towards Tibetans is no different from the Israeli attitude towards the Palestinian people! According to the communist Chinese, only those who follow Mao and his ideology are people but if they don’t follow Mao and his ideology, they are not people! In another words, they are animals! The treatment of Palestinians by Israel is the same as openly declared by the Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant saying, “they are animals”!!!
The CTA under the present incumbent has firmly stood by the “Middle Way” or autonomy and has often riled against Independence advocates and sought to suppress them even in a supposedly democratic set up. The incumbent has gone as far as not even sharing a seat with independence advocate Lukarjam and refused to read journals and works of independent advocate Jamyang Norbu! He and his followers have peddled him as the “prince of middle way”! So, why is the CCP specifically maligning the CTA as separatist? Besides, written documents of clarification of the middle way have been presented to the CCP, even so it barks like a dog and calls by derogatory names. It goes to show the CCP has no appetite for any discussion except “my way is highway” hubris!
On the other hand, they are desperate to get hold of the Dalai Lama before it’s too late. They have a mega plan despite demonising the Dalai Lama as a “serf owner” and allegedly running a “theocratic serfdom”! Today, they are eating their own words by clinging to the Dalai Lama like a distressed child to its mother. They have come to the conclusion that far from being a “serf-owner” as they farcically called him, he is adored by the six million Tibetans even after seven decades of separation. Their fabricated dark tales about Tibet have been exposed by the CCP itself. Their falsifications have now been laid bare for all the world to see! The CCP wants the Dalai Lama not for His blessings but solely for political purposes. Their grand plan is to invite the Dalai Lama like they did Ma Yin Jung of the Kumintang party recently and take him for pilgrimage to some “holy” places to impress him and also win the good will of the Tibetan people. He will not be allowed into occupied Tibet because they jolly well know, it will be a nightmare to control the masses who will go ballistic to see the Dalai Lama once in their life after waiting for seven decades! The sinister part is, after seeing the places and given him a good lecture on the “mighty progress” they have allegedly made in occupied Tibet, will they allow him to return to India? That is the million dollar question that every Tibetan must ask themselves! My personnel thinking is, THEY WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO RETURN TO INDIA! The reason is simple. Their main incentive to allow him to visit Beijing is to get a firm commitment from the Dalai Lama concerning his reincarnation. This is the only reason they want to talk to the Dalai Lama. They are on slippery ground about the prospect of getting a hand on the future Dalai Lama’s reincarnation which they see is key to legitimising their illegal occupation by using a compliant Dalai Lama as its proxy to calm ruffled feathers in occupied Tibet! To do that, they need to keep the Dalai Lama with them until he is no more. Once, he is no more, they will do what they did to the reincarnation of the 9th Panchen Lama who died in Jeykundo in 1946. After the demise of the 9th Panchen, the Kumintang Government of China claimed, the Panchen had left a note of where he would be born! Therefore, brought their own candidate of the 10th Panchen Lama. When the communists came to power in China in 1949, they dittoed the Kumintang claim and later forced the Tibetan Government to recognise their candidate! The Tibetan candidate born in central Tibet was reduced to པཎ་ཆེན་འོས་སྤྲུལ་ (deemed Panchen reincarnation) and joined the Gomang Monastery of Drepung. If the Dalai Lama and the CTA are not careful, history might repeat itself once more! My latest information from Lhasa is there is growing presence of police and security personnel in the region. There is a palpable atmosphere of fear and anxiety as if something is going to explode any moment! It goes to show that even after seven decades of brutal military occupation, there is simmering tension beneath the deceptive sense of stability! The CCP has realised that they need the person of the Dalai Lama to ameliorate the resistance that they are facing to their brutal occupation. The Dalai Lama may have very good intentions to go to Beijing but he must remember, the CCP has no faith or devotion in him. He is only being used as a pawn to legitimise the illegal occupation of Tibet by giving the impression that the Dalai Lama has finally accepted the status quo. He must fast forward to 1954 when he visited China and gave the CCP a huge scoop of propaganda when he was shown slotting his ballot paper into the ballot box with the CCP flag in the background! Surely, he needn’t reward the CCP with another scoop for oppressing the Tibetan people for seven decades and dethroning him and sending him into exile!