Dalai Lama - Lessons for the Chinese

'In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best teacher'

So said the Dalai Lama of the relationship between his exiled Tibetan government and the People's Republic of China. This entry is not going to focus upon the life of the Dalai Lama, but will instead look at what the Republic of China could learn from one of it's more famous and vociferous critics.

The context for this discussion is the five-yearly Communist Party Congress - held just off Tienanmen Square (yes, that Tienanmen Square) in Beijing. But before you ask why such a body would possibly be discussing an exiled leader - they're not. The US government is however. In a move reminiscent of recent congressional statements on the validity of claims surrounding the Armenian genocide, the US has awarded the current Dalai Lama one of it's highest honours. The Congressional Gold Medal is the US' top civilian award, with previous medals awarded to Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela Tony Blair, Winston Churchill and Pope John Paul II. President Bush called on China to open talks with the Buddhist figurehead, calling him a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance".

Few of us would I think disagree with that statement. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has lived in exile in India since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. Beijing has long argued that he is attempting to undermine Chinese sovereignty by pushing for Tibetan independence. However, world leaders have become increasingly vocal at the perceived human rights abuses in Tibet. In September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met the Dalai Lama, incurring Beijing's wrath. The Tibetan leader has also met Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and Australian Prime Minister John Howard this year, and is due to meet Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper later this month. China was outraged when Canada granted the Dalai Lama honorary citizenship last year. Whilst many may not fully understand what the man believes, or even how he is perceived in his home country, one thing is for sure: he has successfully created an image of peace and harmony, rivalled only by that of the white dove and the CND logo

China has again stepped up the row surrounding the Dalai Lama. "The move of the United States is a blatant interference in China's internal affairs," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. Mr Liu said the ministry had summoned ambassador Clark T Randt to express "strong protest to the US government" over the issue. But why does the world threaten relations with increasingly powerful China, in favour of closer ties with an old man in an Indian Himalayan village? The answer: the Chinese have not yet comprehended the need for constructive dialogue with the outside world. International politicians regularly accuse Beijing of turning a blind eye to rights abuses in Burma and Sudan in its pursuit of energy and business deals.

Instead of learning how to conduct oneself under the scrutiny of international commentators, the Chinese continue to suppress Tibetan Buddhism and have recently captured the Dalai Lama's chosen candidate as Panchen Lama. The current Congress has also seen increased military rhetoric aimed at the forces of Taiwanese independence. Where China has covered domestic disillusionment behind the facade of economic growth, the Dalai Lama has successfully projected an image of peace to the outside world. If the Chinese authorities really want to promote social harmony and a well-off society, they should move beyond mere rhetoric and show the world what they can really do.

Blygt.