Rapprochement with the

Dalai Lama? No way, says

China

Chi
na says Dalai Lama should seek forgiveness, accept Tibet has been part of China "since
antiquity" and then work out what to do with the rest of his life. (For the Washington
Post)

By Simon Denyer-April 16 at 6:01 AM

BEIJING China has quashed talk of a rapprochement with the Dalai Lama, insisting
that greater autonomy for Tibet is not up for discussion, accusing him of consistently

inciting violence within the region and demanding that he seek forgiveness for
attempting to split China.
In a fiercely worded white paper on Tibet released Wednesday, China also demanded
that Tibets exiled religious leader publicly acknowledge that the region has been part
of China since antiquity, something that scholars say is neither true nor a condition
that the Dalai Lama could possibly accept.
In October, the 79-year-old Dalai Lama told The Washington Post that informal talks
were taking place with the Chinese government over his possible return to his
homeland, if only for a visit, and he praised President Xi Jinping as a realist. Other
media reports suggested that moderate elements within the Chinese leadership might
be exploring the possibility of a rapprochement.
But many scholars were skeptical at the time, and the governments latest report
showed that Beijings position is as uncompromising as ever if not more so and its
vitriol unrelenting.

The Dalai Lama, seen here as a 15-year-old ruler of Tibet, fled to India during the 1959
Tibetan uprising. (Lowell Thomas Jr/AP)

Any negotiations will be limited to seeking

solutions for the Dalai Lama to completely abandon separatist claims and activities
and gain the forgiveness of the central government and the Chinese people, and to
working out what he will do with the rest of his life, the report said.
It said the political status of Tibet within China and demands for greater autonomy are
not up for discussion.
Only when he makes a public statement acknowledging that Tibet has been an
integral part of China since antiquity, and abandons his stance on independence and
his attempts to divide China, can he improve his relationship with the central
government in any meaningful sense, it added. The central government hopes the
Dalai Lama will put aside his illusions in his remaining years and face up to reality.

The Dalai Lama, who fled the Himalayan region in 1959, has long denied that he is
seeking independence, aiming instead for a high degree of autonomy in an approach
he has termed the Middle Way. The Chinese government called this stance a mask
that conceals the true aim of realizing complete independence.
In previous white papers, it has insisted that the Dalai Lama acknowledge that Tibet is
an inalienable part of China, something he has effectively done in the past. Now it
wants him to say it has been one since antiquity.
I once discussed this with the Dalai Lama and he said this claim is simply false and he
cannot agree to something that is false, said Michael Davis, a law professor at the
University of Hong Kong. Historians clearly agree with him, as widely reflected in the
literature.
China took control of Tibet in 1950, and has since engaged in a brutal campaign of
religious, political and cultural repression, according tohuman rights groups. China
says that it liberated the Tibetan people from theocratic feudal serfdom, and that it
has brought modern civilization and development to what is called the roof of the
world.
China accused the Dalai group of organizing, masterminding and instigating protests
by Tibetans in Lhasa on March 14, 2008, in which it says 18 people were burned or
hacked to death and 382 were injured, and of encouraging a series of activities meant
to sabotage the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
It also accused the Dalai Lama of encouraging deluded lamas and lay followers to
engage in self-immolation. More than 130 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in
Tibetan areas of China since 2009 to protest Chinas repressive policies, according
to overseas pro-Tibetan groups.
The Dalai Lama has blamed Chinas cultural genocide for the self-immolations.
While not condemning them, he insists that he is not encouraging them, saying they

take very strong courage but may not be wise, as they only provoke more repression.
Last week, 47-year-old nun Yeshi Khando is reported to have set herself on fire near a
police station in a Tibetan part of Sichuan province, shouting slogans including, Tibet
needs freedom.
The Tibetan government in exile, based in the Indian town of Dharamsala, called the
white paper a frenzied attempt to whitewash a tragic reality, and said it indicated
the Chinese governments nervousness over its grip on occupied Tibet.
But scholars said it reflected Beijings view that it was firmly in control and saw no
need to compromise.
The white paper makes it clear that Chinas position has remained steady, and talk of
a growing moderate faction on Tibet within the leadership has been naive or even
disingenuous on the part of commentators, and self-deceptive or cynical on the part of
the exile leadership, said Elliot Sperling, an expert on Tibet at Indiana University.
China sees the game as mostly over, with a few odds and ends remaining that it can
weather with little discomfort, he added, with harsh measures employed to deal with
further protests and self-immolations.
As the Dalai Lama ages, and China becomes ever more powerful, Beijing also thinks it
has time on its side. It is almost certainly planning to engineer the Dalai Lamas
succession, to raise a young leader more favorably inclined toward its rule, and
promote him over any rival chosen by the exile community.
But having previously suggested that he would be reborn outside China, the Dalai
Lama irritated China recently by suggesting that he might not reincarnate at all.
In a bizarre sequence of events, senior officials from the avowedly atheist Communist
Party responded by accusing the Dalai Lama of betraying his religion, and insisting

that the party itself, not the Dalai Lama, would decide whether he would be reborn.
Sperling said China knows that no world leader will officially receive a child as the
leader of Tibet in opposition to China and its chosen Dalai Lama. Beijing already has
achieved real results, he added, in diminishing the Dalai Lamas international
visibility by inducing more governments and leaders not to deal with him.
The governments white paper was titled Tibets path of development is driven by an
irresistible historical tide, and concluded that anyone who tried to resist that tide will
simply be cast aside by history and by the people.
Davis said it showed that the Chinese government has no serious intent to find
accommodation with the Tibetan people.
It is clear that they take the view that they hold all the cards and will not do anything
to resolve this dispute in a fair manner, Davis said. On this basis, I would expect
Tibetan frustration and resistance to grow.
Liu Liu contributed to this report.
Full text of Chinas white paper on Tibet
Are there signs of a thaw between China and the exiled Dalai Lama on Tibet?
Self-immolations reflect rising Tibetan anger
China powerless to prevent rising tide of Tibetan self-immolations

Simon Denyer is The Posts bureau chief in China. He

served previously as bureau chief in India and as a Reuters bureau chief in
Washington, India and Pakistan.
Posted by Thavam