TIBETSPACE

CHINA SPANKS FRANCE . . . AGAIN!

After crumbling under China's schoolyard bullying this summer, French President Sarkozy sent his wife to meet with His Holiness.  Now, having agreed to meet on December 6 with His Holiness in Poland--not even on French soil--the French President is once again feeling the wrath of the Chinese government.  The language of the current disapproval is true to form:  vague, foreboding, angry, threatening, self-important.  China realizes that the Dalai Lama has garnered Western support for many of his causes, and this of course enrages the Chinese. 

The Tibetan cause, however you define it, is being played out, however you feel about it, on the world stage, with a distinguished group of commentators and power-brokers in the audience.  When we consider the ongoing and epic tragedy in the Congo, for example, and acknowledge how comparatively little attention it is receiving, we also have to acknowledge, as the Chinese have been forced grudgingly to do, that the Tibetan campaign has been waged with considerable skill and adroitness. 

Commentators on the American political scene have already suggested that the Obama campaign, developed over the past four years, is worthy of extended analysis.  Let me suggest that His Holiness's campaign, waged over the last half-century, falls into the same category. 

An honest question:  Has there ever been a similar case, where a people living in utter geographical and political isolation, moves from complete anonymity on the world stage to a position of such widespread recognition and approval as that of the Tibetans in the 21st century? 

We might debate the effects of such recognition, of course.  We might wonder at the motivations involved, both of the Tibetans who engineered the campaign and the Westerners, particularly, who have so eagerly embraced the campaign.  But that the Tibetan crisis has reached the world's attention can't be denied. 

And this, of course, is what angers the Chinese.  Stay tuned, as the Tibetans convene in Dharamsala next week for a very important meeting.  The Chinese propaganda machine will be chugging along at full speed.

SPERLING DISCUSSES HISTORIC TREATY AND OTHER ITEMS

Elliot Sperling, professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University, spoke briefly about the Tibet-Mongolia Treaty of 1913 that has long been a sore spot for China apologists who have difficulty denying the frank implication of Tibetan independence that underlies the very treaty's existence.  A new copy of it emerged recently and stands to have an impact on the talks in Dharamsala. 

China is also lashing out at the meetings in Dharamsala slated for next week, as well as at India for allowing them to happen. 

Some things never change, and so the deliberations that recently occurred in China between the Chinese and the Tibetans reportedly yielded no results.  This is unsurprising, sobering, and instructive, particularly in light of the the upcoming conference in Dharamsala. 

With a bang or a whimper?  . . .  How will the meetings next week conclude?

GETTING READY FOR THE MEETING IN DHARAMSALA

As the November 17th meeting in Dharamsala approaches, there are several things that we might read to prepare ourselves to understand whatever resolutions are reached on that fateful day.  I've already recommended Shadow Tibet, and I'll recommend it again:  there are essential pieces posted there.  Also, much discussion has appeared recently concerning rangzen (independence), the Middle Way approach, and the Dalai Lama's role in leading the Tibetan people through the coming months and years.  The following website contains both clear explanations of the relevant ideas, and it also has helpful links at the bottom of the page to the original speeches where His Holiness articulated his founding ideas (click here). 

MORE ESSENTIAL READING FROM JAMYANG NORBU

Many of the readers of this blog regularly visit Jamyang Norbu's blog, Shadow Tibet, and will aready know that Jamyang la has recently posted an essay on the November meeting in Dharamsala.  If you haven't already read  "Making the November Meeting Work," please stop by and have a look at it.  It's always a pleasure to agree with Jamyang la--paraphrasing TS Eliot on Samuel Johnson:  Jamyang la is a dangerous man to disagree with--and in this recent piece, he makes many of the same points I've made in this blog concerning the importance of the upcoming meeting.  Of course, Jamyang la makes his case with far greater knowledge and authority than I am able to do, so many thanks to him for his sharp insights into the Tibetan political process.  As Americans, looking from the outside in, we stand to learn a great deal from columns like these.  Again, many thanks to Jamyang la for his time and effort in writing this piece.

Also, you will learn a great deal as well from the comments added by Jamyang la's readers . . . they are a diverse and opinionated group, so leave time for them too.

CHINESE LAUNCH MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST TIBET

Clearly responding to His Holiness's recent expressions of futility in dealing with the Chinese negotiators, the Chinese government today launched a multi-faceted media campaign aimed at convincing the world that China's reforms in Tibet have led to substantial improvement in the basic living conditions of all Tibetans (see story here).  This is a counter-offensive directed at His Holiness's recent statements regarding the cultural genocide that is currently taking place in Tibet.  As we know from the American media, it's wise not to underestimate the power of the media in propagating lies, and so it is incumbent upon us to follow these media blitzes from the Chinese as best we can--they will have an effect, most likely on the Chinese, but an effect nonetheless. 

MAJNU KA TILLA AND BUDH VIHAR GIVEN A STAY OF EXECUTION

Two important Tibetan settlements in India, which had been threatened with demolition, were given a reprieve yesterday by the Indian government.  Begun in 1959 on the banks of the Yamuna River, Majnu Ka Tilla has long been a major seat of Tibetan culture in the country's capital, and all supporters of Tibet should be delighted that the Indian government has decided to allow these intrepid refugees to continue to reside in their homes.

HIS HOLINESS GRADUALLY ESCALATING THE RHETORIC

Visiting Tokyo recently, His Holiness increased the level of his rhetoric directed against the Chinese by asserting bluntly that the Chinese occupation of Tibet was tantamount to a "death sentence" for all Tibetans. 

"This ancient nation," he continued, "with an ancient cultural heritage is dying."  As Americans who deprived our own indigenous population of their history and culture, we have to feel the deep sadness behind his statement as we watch this cultural crisis deepen on a daily basis:  the steady population transfer of Han Chinese into Tibet alone imperils all Tibetans both in Lhasa and across the plateau.  Most disturbingly the Chinese would seem to have adopted the long view of the Tibetan demise--year by year, more Han Chinese arrive, more Tibetans leave, more of the land is given over to mining, more of the rivers are dammed . . . more of Tibet and greater numbers of Tibetans are changed utterly.

This latest statement by His Holiness points up the importance of the meeting in Dharamsala on November 17.  "We will listen to the people's suggestions," His Holiness said, "and then I think things will become clear."  A strong contingency of the Tibetan people have been recently voicing their differences with His Holiness's support of autonomy for Tibet and asserting that independence is the only acceptable goal for the Tibetan people.  Most of the Tibetans with whom I spoke this summer have a free and independent Tibet firmly fixed in their hearts and minds, and I suspect this will emerge as a consensus in November. 

By expressing frustration with China's intractability in the negotiations and by supporting fully the democratic initiatives of a self-governing Tibetan people, His Holiness has set the stage for an historic meeting in Dharamsala in November.  His role in this unfolding drama remains central, and as events develop, we will watch a statesman of unparalleled abilities working at the height of his powers. 

Or so it seems to me.  Keep him and the Tibetan people in your own hearts and minds over the next few weeks.  Historians may well look back on November, 2008, as a crucial moment in the history of Tibet.