NPR: China Not Happy About Dalai Lama's U.S. Honor

China Not Happy About Dalai Lama's U.S. Honor

There are many ways to draw the ire of the Chinese government. Accuse it of not enforcing copyright laws. Treat Taiwan (which China considers part of its territory) as an independent nation.

And, of course, talk publicly to the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of another region Beijing considers part of China, Tibet.

China is pretty upset that the Dalai Lama will receive the highest honor U.S. lawmakers can bestow, the Congressional Gold Medal, Morning Edition reports. It's an unusually public acknowledgment of the Dalai Lama, who is also meeting with President Bush today.

Any public honor for the Dalai Lama, who China accuses of seeking independence for Tibet, is seen as interference in internal Chinese politics. China has warned that it will "seriously harm" the relationship between the two countries.

Anthony Kuhn reports from Beijing that the trip comes at a bad time for Chinese leaders. They are trying to negotiate a leadership shuffle at the ongoing 17th Party Congress. And they are puzzled by their lack of success in placating the Tibetan people.

"I think it is a big question for China that there seems to be a continuing inability to gauge how Tibetans think, and how to win them over," said Robbie Barnett, who runs the Tibetan studies program at Columbia University in New York. "[They need] to get over the idea that you can buy people's loyalty by improving the economy and improving cities and so on. It just isn't working out for them."

3:03 PM ET | 10-16-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

It is wonderful that His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama is receiving the Gold Medal of Honor. And the thought of HH visiting with President Bush is a ray of hope. Anyone who has been in the audience of this great and holy man understands why I say this. So why not let the news stories be about the event instead of all the rhetoric about China's possible reaction. My goodness, let's celebrate this person's many contributions to mankind and respect the honor bestowed upon him. Even the NPR news story contains nothing but how China may react to the event and has nothing about the acts of the person being awarded or some background on the actual award. I've searched the news networks and still don't know why this event is taking place. Surely somebody knows. How about an interview or an article about the actual event. Honoring peaceful people is a good thing. Let's celebrate it.

Sent by Jim Bilskie | 3:51 PM ET | 10-16-2007

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