Now the Tibet blame game begins
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Tuesday assured that "social
order" has all but been restored in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which
has been scarred by anti-Chinese demonstrations. Beijing is now left
to limit the damage from the high-profile disturbances, and is doing
so by squarely blaming the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, for
not only instigating the unrest, but also for trying to sabotage
China's Olympic dream. - John Ng (Mar 18, '08)
Now the Tibet blame game begins
By John Ng
March 19, 2008 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JC19Ad02.html
HONG KONG - Hours after Monday's midnight deadline passed for
anti-Chinese protesters in Tibet to turn themselves in or face severe
punishment, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao clearly laid the blame
for the unrest on the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader and tem****al
head of the Tibetan government in exile.
"There is ample fact - and we also have plenty of evidence - proving
that this incident was organized, premeditated, masterminded and
incited by the Dalai clique," Wen said in Beijing at the end of the
annual National People's Congress session in a press briefing that was
broadcast live nationally.
Despite Wen's unequivocal accusation against the Dalai Lama of
orchestrating events in Tibet, he said China was prepared to talk to
the spiritual leader.
"We have repeatedly stated that the Dalai Lama gives up his
independence position, recognizes Tibet as an inseparable part of
China's sovereign territory and recognize Taiwan as an inseparable
part of China's sovereign territory. [Then] our door is open to him
for talks ... But the recent events exactly prove he is hypocritical
on these two key issues. Even so, I want to reiterate that we still
keep our word. Now what is key to this is his action."
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he does not seek independence for
Tibet, but true autonomy for the Tibetan Autonomous Region. The Dalai
Lama has called for an investigation into the Chinese crackdown and
whether it was deliberate "cultural genocide".
Sources close to the Chinese government told Asia Times Online that
Beijing believes the Dalai Lama and his sup****ters want to use the
occasion of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing in August to
"internationalize" the Tibet issue in the hope it would lead to the
ultimate independence of the Himalayan region. "But China is not
Serbia and Tibet is not Kosovo. China will never allow any issue
concerning its sovereignty to be internationalized or the intervention
of foreign forces," one of the sources said.
It is not known how many protesters took up Beijing's offer to turn
themselves in as news has been blacked out from the Tibetan capital
Lhasa, where officially 16 people have been killed in protests over
the past few days. Foreign tourists and journalists have been barred
from entering the region.
However, the US government-funded Radio Free Asia on Tuesday quoted an
unnamed witness as saying authorities in Lhasa had begun arresting
hundreds of people. Tibetan exile groups claim that 100 people or more
have died.
Wen, who was re-elected as premier for another five years on Monday,
assured at the briefing that the situation in Tibet was returning to
normal, and that Beijing would "consider the possibility" of allowing
access for foreign journalists, but he did not say when. "Social order
has basically been restored in Lhasa," Wen said.
It remains now for China to limit the damage of the events that have
dominated world headlines for several days. The chief concern is how
the fallout might affect the Olympics.
Again, Wen accused the Dalai Lama of trying to undermine the Games.
"They want to undermine the Beijing Olympic Games. We should respect
the principles of the Olympics and the Olympic charter. We should not
politicize the Games."
A high-level contact who spoke to Asia Times Online stressed China's
obsession with staging a successful Games, including a relay for the
Olympic torch that will pass through Tibet in June. As Wen said, "I
want to reiterate that China is a country with a history of 5,000
years. To hold an Olympic Games is a dream of many generations.
Through hosting the games, we hope to strengthen friend****p and
cooperation with peoples in other countries."
Many nations have called on China to exercise restraint in dealing
with the Tibetan protests, but none has indicated it will stage - or
call for - a boycott of the Olympics.
So at this stage, Beijing looks to have escaped an Olympic bullet,
provided it can keep the lid on any more protests.
As for relations with the Dalai Lama, Beijing has sparred with him
ever since he fled Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against the
China-backed government in Lhasa. Despite the rhetoric, the latest
events are unlikely to change much.
However, the Dalai Lama was quoted in the media on Tuesday as saying
"if things become out of control [in Tibet] then my only option is to
completely resign".
A neighbor on edge
Wen admitted that Tibet is a "sensitive" issue between China and India
and expressed his appreciation to the Indian government for cracking
down on Tibetan protesters there.
The Dalai Lama's government in exile is based in the Indian Himalayan
town of Dharamsala, which is also home to thousands of his followers
and fellow exiles.
"The Tibetan issue is a very sensitive one in our relations with
India. We appreciate the position and the steps taken by the Indian
government in handling Tibetan independence activities masterminded by
the Dalai clique."
Indian police last week arrested about 100 Tibetan marchers who were
trying to get into Tibet from India. Delhi also said it "does not
permit Tibetans to engage in anti-China political activities in
India".
Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament during a
debate on Tibet that India's policy of non-interference in China was
the same despite recent events. "New Delhi's policy on China and Tibet
has remained unchanged since 1959 despite various political parties
being in power at the center [Delhi] since then," he said.
Economic concerns
Addressing economic issues, Wen said he was worried about the
potential global economic and financial fallout from the US subprime
crisis, which would make his job of balancing growth and fighting
inflation more challenging.
"I am closely watching and feel deeply worried about the global
economic situation, especially the US economy. What concerns me now is
the continuous depreciation of the US dollar and when the dollar will
hit bottom and what measures the US government will take."
Wen said Beijing would have to take the changing international
environment into account. "Global economic developments cannot but
have an impact on China. Therefore, at the same time as pursuing these
policies [tightening monetary policy and prudential fiscal policy], we
must pay close attention to international economic developments and,
based on changing trends, be flexible and timely in adopting
corresponding countermeasures."
His government's top priority was to bring inflation under control
while at the same time keep relatively high-speed economic growth, the
Chinese premier said. "Number one, we need to ensure fast yet steady
economic development in the country and at the same time we need to
effectively hold down inflation."
China needs to keep its economy growing fast to curb unemployment. Wen
said in the next five years, China needed to create 50 million new
jobs, so it could not afford to let its economic growth slow too
drastically.
China's gross domestic product grew 11.4% last year, the fifth
straight year of double-digit growth. Wen has set a target of 8% for
2008, but economists widely expect this will be exceeded.
Wen said he was confident his government could keep inflation under
the target of 4.8% this year, through arduous efforts. "We hope to
keep the consumer price index [CPI] this year to 4.8%, though this is
not an easy job." China's CPI hit a near 12-year high of 8.7% in
February, well above the target for the whole of the year.
John Ng is a freelance journalist based in Hong Kong
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