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Will the Meeting with the Dalai’s Rep in Beijing be Meaningless?

I was optimistic when I first heard about the supposed upcoming meeting between the Chinese government and a representative of the Dalai Lama. Now I am not so sure because the Chinese government has apparently already set the terms of the meeting. According to Xinhua, a Beijing official is quoted as saying that it is hoped that the meeting will convince the Dalai Lama to “take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks.” Is the Dalai Lama really going to allow his representative to hold talks that are based on these premises? The exiled leader has already denied any involvement in the recent Tibet uprising. Contrary to what many in Chinese people that I talk to believe, he is not asking that Tibet be freed from Chinese rule. The movement for Tibetan independence is being led by other groups who may have great respect for the Dalai Lama but are going to continue their rally cry whether or not he gives his blessing.

I do believe that renewed dialogue between the nemeses is a good first step but I am not convinced that any real progress is going to be made through the talks. The Chinese government will get their ’moment of good PR’ and the representative will have a chance to reiterate the Dalai Lama’s desire for a more autonomous Tibet but will anything really change? As I wrote in an article entitled How a Burning Torch Ignites the World’s Conscience, the Chinese government knows that their ‘troublemaking children’, Taiwan in the East and Xinjiang in the West, are watching closely to see how the Tibet situation is handled. Even the slightest concession on Tibet could inspire more unrest elsewhere in China.

I suppose that some ‘progress’ can be declared if the Chinese government and the Dalai’s representative simply do sit down in Beijing and talk. In March, during the unrest, it appeared that the Chinese government would hold talks with the Tibetan spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama said that he was ready to go to Beijing but in the end the meeting did not come to fruition. I assume that this recently proposed meeting is also on shaky ground and that its occurrence will only become reality if the government perceives a lessening in the intensity of the pro-Tibet movement and rhetoric around the world.

I am forever an optimist and I hope that if these meetings do take place, I will be proven wrong about the outcome. The 2008 Olympics are fast approaching and no one, especially not me, wants to have to watch the Olympics through a shroud of political turmoil and international strife. I think that the world community would like to view the Games for what they are; a pure display of athleticism and world unity. Will the Chinese government be able to use the remaining few months to repair ‘the damage’ and convince the world that the Olympics do belong in Beijing this year? Only time will tell; and the clock is ticking.

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