It seems quite odd the support the Bush administration is lavishing upon the Dalai Lama when they refuse to publicly acknowledge the independence of Taiwan, a democratically ruled country that China continually threatens to invade if it makes any claims of independence.
On Wednesday, October 17th, President Bush presented the Dalai Lama with the U.S. Congress' highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal. According to China Confidential and Yahoo News, China responded by postponing talks in Berlin with the UN Security Council about the Iranian nuclear crisis.
"I think they (the Chinese) had indigestion ... over the presence of certain spiritual leaders and an event in Congress," said a US State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It is extraneous to Iranian issues."
It seems quite odd that the Bush administration would choose now as the time to recognize the Dalai Lama as a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance, a shepherd of the faithful and a keeper of the flame for his people," which is how Bush described the exiled leader of Tibet. The Bush administration may have ulterior motives for delaying talks with the UN Security Council about the crisis in Iran. Namely, if the US is preparing to invade Iran on the grounds that it must prevent a nuclear Iran, then it doesn't make much sense to participate in events that would handle the problem diplomatically.
China said that the event supported Tibetan separatism, which goes against the "One China" policy legislated by the Chinese government in 2005. Most people think of the "One China" policy as being a ploy to justify invading Taiwan, but it also justifies using any means necessary to keep Tibet as part of China. It is unclear why the Bush administration would willingly cross China on this issue when it concerns Tibet but not Taiwan. It could simply be that there is still the possibility of war between Taiwan and China and the US would likely be in the middle of any conflict between Taiwan and China. When it comes to Tibet, however, the damage has already been done, and it's quite obvious that the US isn't willing to do anything more to help the Tibetan people than hang medals around the neck of their exiled leader and whisper disparaging remarks about China's human rights abuses.
I think the difference is that Taiwan is a sovereignty issue, and China is more than willing to go to war over it (which the US does not want), while Tibet, though also a sovereignty issue, is already firmly under their control, and the Dalai llama doesnt espouse independence for Tibet, merely autonomy with Tibet still under China and hence China would not see any need to go to war over this issue (which makes the US breathe a sigh of relief).
This emboldens the US in Dalai Llama affairs, while worries it in Taiwan affairs, making the US more than just a little cautious with regard to Taiwan.
Posted by: Kelvin | November 22, 2007 at 07:31 PM