Author: Claude Arpi
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 27, 2003
A rather surprising announcement
was made recently by Zhuang Cong Sheng, a senior official of the United
Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
China. Mr Zhuang declared in Beijing: "To my knowledge in recent years,
we didn't have any formal talks with the Dalai Lama." It is more astonishing
as in May this year Mr Zhuang himself was host in Beijing to the Tibetan
representatives led by Mr Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy. To
play down the visit of the Dalai Lama's representatives, the Chinese official
added: "Tibetan compatriots who visited the region for sight-seeing and
tourism, had some `contacts' with his department". He further told the
press that it was `misleading' to call these contacts `negotiations'.
Mr Zhuang's words were corroborated
by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the eve of his departure to the US. In
an interview to the Washington Post, Mr Wen declared: "We have taken note
of the recent remarks by the Dalai Lama, but we still need to watch very
carefully what he really does. So long he genuinely abandons his position
on seeking Tibetan independence and publicly recognises Tibet and Taiwan
as inalienable parts of Chinese territory, then contacts and discussions
between him and the central government can resume."
It was 15 years ago, in September
1987, that the Dalai Lama officially and publicly declared he was renouncing
his claim to Tibet's independence. A year later, in front of the European
MPs in Strasbourg, he reiterated his position of seeking "genuine autonomy"
within the People's Republic of China. This compromise had been suggested
in 1978 when Deng Xiaoping sent a message: "We can discuss everything,
except independence."
Today, Mr Wen's interview shows
that nothing has changed in the last 15 years, despite the Tibetan leader's
compromises and his obvious wish to find an amicable solution. Many feel
that it was perhaps his mistake to seek a "middle path" approach. Some
parry that if he had continued to ask for independence, negotiations would
today be under way? Who knows?
At the beginning of the 20th century,
the predecessor of the 13th Dalai Lama told his British friend, Sir Charles
Bell: "The Chinese way is to do something rather mild at first; then to
wait a bit, and if it passes without objection, to say or do something
stronger. But if we take objection to the first statement or action, they
urge that it has been a misunderstanding, and cease, for a time at any
rate, from troubling us further."
The Chinese give a different meaning
to "middle path". First they grab; if they encounter strong resistance,
they may withdraw half way. Unfortunately, in the case of Tibet's status
as well as for the borders with India, the reaction was too mild to even
be taken note of by Beijing, which remains today on its original position.
Mr Wen's declaration raises very
serious issues for the Tibetans in exile as well as for India's border
negotiations. In both cases, Beijing is in position of control (whether
in Tibet or Aksai Chin) and to wait 10, 20 or 50 years does seem to be
a problem. However, this can be seen from another angle. What we are witnessing
today in Tibet is a clash of civilisation. The Dalai Lama's crusade for
ethics and universal responsibility is a fight to preserve an endangered
way of living. It is also a battle against time.
If this endangered culture disappears
forever, it will certainly be a great loss for mankind which continues
to need spiritual awareness to grow and develop. Recently, I was told by
a friend who went to Mount Kailash that as soon as one crosses the Indian
border to reach Purang (Taklakot) located near the trijunction between
India, Tibet and Nepal, one finds brothels and karaoke bars where, 50 years
ago, there were only monasteries or stupas. During the last couple of years,
Purang, the last town before the Kailash parikrama, has gone into these
new business ventures. How would pilgrims react if brothels were opened
in Mecca or Vatican City?
A thousand years ago, the kingdom
of Guge-Purang was the centre of one of the greatest cultural renaissance
which spread into the entire Himalayan belt. The knowledge which had been
accumulated for centuries in the great viharas of North India, and which
was systematically destroyed by barbarian hordes, took refuge in these
areas of Western Tibet.
Today, a new civilisation based
on Deng Xiaoping's motto: "It's glorious to be rich" is clashing with the
old one. Slowly, the Tibetan plateau, the symbol of inner peace, is being
taken over by modern concrete ugly buildings and prostitutes. Most ironic
is it is perhaps the people of China who most need the inner qualities
that the Lamas discovered in their caves after years of meditation and
sadhana.
The viharas and the caves were certainly
not the answer to all ills, but brothels or karaoke bars are answers to
none. Can Beijing understand it is in the interest of the people of China
to find this inner dimension again, which was always present in China's
long history? If Beijing could understand this, the new leadership would
certainly have a serious dialogue with the Dalai Lama immediately.
