EDITORIAL: China's failed Tibet propaganda

Source: Taipei Times
Sunday, Dec 09, 2007, Page 8
In the past few months, several heads of state have received the Dalai Lama and indirect exchanges between Beijing and the religious leader have focused more attention on Tibet than it has seen for years. The [for Beijing] unwelcome attention has incensed Chinese authorities and sparked a nonstop flow of propagandist denunciations and threats that have done little more than erode the country's credibility abroad at a time when everything from child labor money-making schemes at public schools to toys laced with lead have severely tarnished its reputation.

China's invective against a man who has won the Nobel Peace Prize and advocates peaceful dialogue can only fail miserably, but Beijing has displayed a distinct lack of strategic deftness in handling the matter, doing itself the disservice of repeatedly stirring up the issue.

On Nov. 28, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) indicated Germany and China could maintain their friendship only if German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that meeting the Dalai Lama in September was a mistake -- strong words more likely to increase sympathies for the Dalai Lama in the West and publicize Beijing's iron grip over its population than to draw an apology.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao (劉建超), meanwhile, lashed out at the Dalai Lama for remarks last month that he might choose his successor before he dies. Liu said Beijing could never accept the idea because it violated "religious rituals and historical conventions." This from the same government that kidnapped the Panchen Lama at the age of six in 1995 and installed a replacement.

Again, China would have been better off keeping quiet. Its comment only highlighted blatant contradictions in its actions and again landed its "Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of the Living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism" in international news. The measures, passed this summer, stipulate that the Chinese government has sole authority in selecting the reincarnations that are central to the religion.

A week later, the Dalai Lama proposed holding a referendum -- including Tibetans in China -- over the issue of his next incarnation. But China, which calls itself "the people's democratic dictatorship" in its Constitution, quickly made it clear it would never allow a plebiscite.

Beijing has yet to understand that its rhetoric doesn't have the same effect in democratic countries as it does with Chinese who have been force-fed a skewed view of reality from grade school on. Instead, Beijing is fueling a public opinion abroad that is a mirror opposite of the image it wants to promote.

But perhaps China believes its rhetoric to be effective. After all, many people in the West incorrectly believe the Dalai Lama demands independence for Tibet -- a claim China repeatedly makes. That widespread misunderstanding, however, probably has less to do with the efficacy of Beijing's propaganda overseas and more to do with the frequent news of abuses in Tibet. Only two weeks ago, hundreds of Tibetans clashed with authorities after police reportedly brutally beat three young monks, one of whom, a 14-year-old, was caught wearing a photo of the Dalai Lama around his neck. For those of us who value democracy and human rights, it is hard to believe Tibetans would want anything less than full independence.