China backing out of Talks with Dalai Lama

TIbetCustom
Last week China announced to world acclaim that they would hold talks with representatives from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

While world leaders applauded China's good sense and timely response to world outrage at their actions in Tibet, other more seasoned observers were less enthusiastic about such "Progress".

China it should be pointed out have held a series of "Talks" with representatives of His Holiness over the last 10 years or so, the talks largely consist of China not listening at all to the reasonable offer of Tibetan Autonomy within China which is after all guaranteed within the Chinese constitution. The Tibetan's over the series of talks have come to realise that all the Chinese want is for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama to die and then they think the "Problem" of Tibet will be over.

Since last weeks announcement Chinese media outlets have let loose a tirade of ridiculous statements insults and plain vitriol aimed at the Dalai Lama, going further than blaming HH for the uprising in Tibet they accuse him of meticulously planning it !
Such stupid accusations are only for home or Chinese nationalist consuption since no one is even going to give such statements the time of day, however it is these statements that give a backdrop to the forthcoming "Talks" which if they happen at all will be with low officials in a basement somewhere beneath a party building in Beijing.
The Tibetan Government in Exile is very sceptical and both His Holiness and Samdhong Rinpoche have said that talks would be good as long as they are substantive, which is unlikely. Which brings the next question, is China actually now scared of having talks ? In the blaze of publicity that would now surround such an event they can hardly carry on as they have in the past, pushing aside all attempts by Tibetan's for a genuine dialogue, it looks like China is trying to butter it's self up to be able to say something like "We cannot hold talks with these people as they are formenting unrest" or something like that.
There are certainly people in Beijing who would like to talk with His Holiness but they are not the one's holding power at the moment, Hu Jintao cut his teeth by crushing Tibetan aspirations in Tibet for freedom in the 1980's. At the same time as 5,000 peaceful protesters in Tiananmen Square were being gunned down by their own armed forces and their bodies scrapped of the floor and walls, Hu Jintao took the same line in Tibet and gained favour with those in Beijing who wanted to steal all freedom from the people of China. He got the Leadership role for his hardline actions. It is unlikely that he will change now.

 It was Mao who asked His General in Tibet when the Dalai Lama fled in 1959

"General Chan have you killed or taken prisoner the Dalai Lama ?"

"No" said General Chan "But we have won"

"No" said Mao "We have lost"

That is how much Mao feared the Dalai Lama, however he also saw the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama as the beginning and the end of the "Tibetan Campaign". Even now the Chinese cannot see past Mao's obsession with the Dalai Lama and feel all they have to do is wait until His Holiness passes away.

Such a policy is going to fail very badly.

The question should be why when China could have had Tibet as part of China have they chosen the path of repression and cultural genocide in an attempt to squash Tibetan aspiration for the preservation of their own culture and heritage.

It really is time China spoke to His Holiness in person, and worked hard to resolve the Issue of Tibet, but it is highly unlikely they will while people like Hu Jintao are in power.