SINOGRAPH Silence on Tibetan talks is golden
By Francesco Sisci
BEIJING - On Tuesday, Beijing reopened the thorny and controversial talks with
envoys of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan god-king. Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari (the Dalai
Lama's right-hand man), Kelsang Gyaltsen, and three other officials of the
Tibetan government in exile reached the Chinese capital, it was announced from
the Dalai Lama’s the headquarters in Dharamsala, India.
Unlike previous occasions, the Tibetans did not release press statements, and
no one leaked news of the contact - the first since talks at the time of the
Beijing Summer Olympic Games in 2008 ended in stalemate.
The news blackout and the fact that the Chinese have agreed to
the talks without pressure from domestic or international groups casts a
positive light on their prospects.
The Uyghur revolt in Urumqi, the capital of China's western Xinjiang region,
last July seems to have contributed to the reopening the contact. Then, groups
of Uyghurs, a Turkic minority, killed dozens of Han Chinese (the ethnic
majority in China). The violence and cruelty of that protest proved to Beijing
that the Tibetans were a milder and a more reasonable lot.
Silence from diplomats is considered in Beijing to be a guarantee of
reliability. Talks between Beijing and the Vatican have been held for years and
have registered significant progress by maintaining complete press silence on
the political content of the talks.
Last week, China held high-level discussions to assess the situation in Tibet
and to consider new projects to boost social and economic development in the
region.
Beijing may also hope to set on a better course the expected controversial
meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, whom China blames
for masterminding demonstrations in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, which ended
with the death of many people in 2008. Beijing has bitterly opposed such
meetings in the past. However, now the two sides seem to have reached a
compromise - Obama will meet the Dalai Lama privately and Beijing will tone
down its protestations.
Besides the present prudent optimism, there are huge differences between the
parties. The Dalai Lama and Beijing do not agree even on the meaning of "Tibet"
or "autonomy".
According to Beijing, "Tibet" is the actual Tibetan Autonomous Region, which
according to the Dalai Lama is less than half the territory of "historical
Tibet" covering about a quarter of all China.
By "autonomy", China means maintaining the current administrative regime that
is heavily dependent on Beijing. The men of the Dalai Lama think of the
autonomy offered by Mao Zedong in the 1950s, which, according to Beijing,
belongs to the past and to history.
Among Tibetans there is still, unchanged over time and history, deep faith in
the Dalai Lama, but Beijing is unwilling to buckle under religious pressures.
Xinhua, the official news agency, announced a gigantic development plan in
recent days that would allow the Himalayan region to leapfrog to the average
per-capita wealth level of the rest of the country by 2020. This means a huge
infrastructure plan that will increasingly integrate Tibet with the rest of
China, even if may not suffice to "buy out" the souls of Tibetans faithful to
the Dalai Lama.
"This time we are really focusing on improving livelihood, whereas previous
policies were mostly concerned with industry and infrastructure," reportedly
said Luorong Zhandui, a specialist in development economics at the China
Tibetology Research Center. "Without human capacity, Tibet will always fall
behind and need others to take care of it," said Luorong, who did not attend
the forum but advised the government to include all Tibetan areas in its policy
deliberations.
The Tibetan front, from Beijing's perspective, appears divided, despite the
common faith in the Dalai Lama. There is seething tension between those in
Dharamsala who have been in exile since 1959 and the Tibetans in Tibet -
although their common opposition to Beijing may unite them.
Moreover, the Dorjie Shugden Sect, considered heretical by the Dalai Lama, yet
counting possibly up to 800,000 followers, has introduced further divisions
among Lamaist Tibetans. The members of this sect are more inclined to
cooperation with Beijing.
In any case, Beijing wants a solution with the Dalai Lama and does not want to
be held hostage to the people in Lhasa who built their political and economic
careers by waving the banner of war on the Tibetan insurrection. In other
words, Beijing, wanting peace and development in Tibet, has two opponents.
One is the group around the Dalai Lama, which wants a tough clash with Beijing
and hopes the ensuing widespread pandemonium will create something positive for
them. The other is the group of Chinese officials in favor of a crackdown in
Lhasa, who can maintain and promote their power by keeping alive the flame or
ghost of an anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet. In fact, the two groups have
convergent interests.
In theory, there may be a balance between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, but China
certainly is not prepared to make concessions on its interpretation of "Tibet"
or "autonomy." This creates a new and very sensitive space for compromise that
will need time and attention to be true and genuine.
Meanwhile, it is unlikely that the two parties will reach an agreement in the
short term. We are near the end of the Chinese lunar year, which ends on
February 13. Most likely, the Chinese have for now only the mandate to study
and understand the true intentions of the other party.
"You can't say there will be a deal, but you can say a better understanding,"
Khedroob Thondup, a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile, reportedly said.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
