News and Views on Tibet

Canada’s Green Party considers Tibet negotiations major opportunity

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Press Release, Green Party – Jan 3, 2006

Canada is in a unique political relationship with both China and the U.S. to speak on these critical issues

Kingston, January 3 – The strategic political connection between the status of Tibet and the future status of Taiwan presents China with an exceptional foreign policy opportunity. Rather than an “Olympic” headache, Tibet could well be the key to a sequence of opportunities to defuse very real and present dangers for China, Taiwan and the rest of the world, said Green Party Foreign Affairs Critic Eric Walton today.

According to Walton, “Canada is in a unique political relationship with both China and the U.S. to speak on these critical issues, and as a long time partner to both countries, we have an obligation to do so.”

Instead of direct confrontation between China and the United States/Japan over Taiwan, a diplomatic process seeking a mutually acceptable and peaceful re-unification between Taiwan and China would gain international credibility if a “Middle Way” federal governance model for Tibet could first be negotiated between China and the Tibetan Government-In-Exile.

“Even with the example of a generous political solution for Tibet, many trust building stages between Taiwan and China will still be required, but at least the crucial international and domestic pieces will have been put in place for a potentially mutually agreed process of eventual reunification to begin,” added Mr. Walton.

The high-risk alternative is to continue with the current new ‘cold war arms race’ developing between the United States and China, and, the continued expansion of the U.S. neo-containment strategy towards China. This has naturally induced a strong reaction from China, leading to more military escalation on both sides. Not only is this cycle of escalation a high-risk course of action, it will ultimately lead to a lose-lose-lose outcome for China, the U.S and the rest of the World.

The massive resources that are and will be directed towards this intensifying arms race will significantly limit both China and the U.S.’s ability to address their own growing social and environmental pressures and disasters. This is the real “deep” threat to those nations. For China, the risks of continuing on this course of action are much higher than the risks of pursuing the exceptional international political opportunity a Tibet federal solution presents while the Dalai Lama is alive and willing to negotiate. The road to Taiwan goes through Tibet for a short time only.

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