Chinese warnings against meeting Dalai Lama seen as more smoke than flame

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa has cautioned against a meeting between Canadian members of parliament (MPs) and His Holiness the Dalai Lama scheduled for Friday at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Although such statements can sound alarming, experts say that in practice, they have little or no effect on economic and diplomatic relations.

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail,  “Yuzhen Tian, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Canada, warned yesterday that MPs and senators would be undermining Chinese-Canadian relations if they support `anti-China separatist forces.’” He also said the meeting would “hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and undermine bilateral relations.”

“This is pretty standard stuff,” said Prof. Jay Garfield, an expert in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. “If you look at this in the context of the history of such statements from the government of the People’s Republic of China, it shouldn’t alarm you too much. They regularly admonish everybody with whom His Holiness the Dalai Lama might be meeting.”

Garfield says their statements are principally rhetoric intended to show that the Chinese government is not softening its position on Tibet.

While activists tend to conflate human rights abuses in Tibet with economic injustice generally, Garfield says that the issues of Sino-Tibetan relations and economic relations with China do not influence each other. “It is not going to follow from anybody meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Michigan that the Chinese government is going to become more or less predatory in their trade practices. Nor would refraining meeting with him have any effect,” Garfield said.

Continued - A striking example of this occurred last week. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd openly criticized China’s actions in Tibet. Yet, the same visit reopened free-trade  talks between Australia and China, which had been stalled after three years of difficult negotiation. Speaking in impeccable Mandarin at Peking University, Rudd said he did not support boycotting the coming Olympics, then added, “But we also believe it is necessary to recognize that there are significant human rights problems in Tibet. As a longstanding friend of China, I intend to have a straightforward discussion with China’s leaders on this.”

The Dalai Lama will be in Ann Arbor Saturday and Sunday to present three talks on “Engaging Wisdom and Compassion” and to give the Peter Wege Lecture on Sustainability. The two-day educational program is jointly sponsored by Jewel Heart, a Buddhist Center in Ann Arbor; The Tibet Fund, and the Garrison Institute. The Peter Wege Lecture is sponsored by the University of Michigan.