Dalai Lama Honored By US Government Sparking Row With China

by Nicole

After a private meeting between the Dalai Lama and George Bush on Tuesday, the exiled Tibetan leader is set to receive the Congressional Gold Medal in a public ceremony on Capital Hill in Washington D.C. today. George Bush will attend the ceremony, and is expected to deliver a brief speech.

The award and George Bush’s planned public appearance with the Dalai Lama, has raised the ire of the Chinese Government, who see this as a diplomatic challenge to their authority over Tibet. “We are furious,” Tibet’s Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli, told reporters during the 17th National Congress. “If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world.”

"We solemnly demand that the US cancel the extremely wrong arrangements," China's foreign minister Mr. Yang told reporters in Beijing. "It seriously violates the norm of international relations and seriously wounded the feelings of the Chinese people and interfered with China's internal affairs."

Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, responded to the Chinese accusations by saying, "We in no way want to stir the pot and make China feel that we are poking a stick in their eye for a country that we have a lot of relationships with on a variety of issues." Deputy press secretary, Tony Fratto, qualified the meeting further, adding, "This is a meeting with a spiritual leader. It is not a meeting with a head of state."

“What we demand from the Chinese authority is more autonomy for Tibetans to protect their culture," said the Dalai Lama in a TV interview on Monday. The leader has long taken a “middle way” stance on the Tibetan situation, and urged his people to accept Tibet as part of China. The Dalai Lama's special envoy, Lodi Gyari, was a little more forthright however, telling reporters, "I have no doubt this will give tremendous encouragement and hope to the Tibetan people.” Adding it also, "sends a powerful message to China that the Dalai Lama is not going to go away."

Born in 1935, Tenzin Gyatso became the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of 15. The People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1950. After a brief uprising, the Dalai Lama fled over the Himalayas to India, where he established a government in exile. Earlier this year, the Chinese government issued a directive, which became effective on Sept 1st 2007, banning Tibetan Buddhist monks from reincarnating without prior permission from four governmental departments, in what was seen as a further attempt to control the destiny of Tibet.

In 1989 the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his consistent resistance to the use of violence in his people's struggle to regain their freedom.” In 2006 he was made an honorary citizen of Canada. This latest honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, is the highest civilian award that can be bestowed by the U.S. Congress. Previous recipients include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Tony Blair, Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Howard Hughes, The Wright brothers, Walt Disney, Irving Berlin, George Washington and Robert Kennedy.

| 10/17/07 | News