Wednesday, July 30, 2008

On the Run: Big K cola and the Dalai Lama

CARBONDALE — The 16.5-mile Mount Sopris Runoff, which starts at the 7-Eleven in Basalt and finishes at Mountain Fair in Carbondale, was held this past Saturday — though one could have mistaken it for 1988, or even 1978, the year it began.

There is nothing modern or highfalutin about this race. To start, there’s no prerace ceremony. And there certainly are no peeled fruits and baked treats waiting at the finish line.

Instead, finishers are greeted by a tub full of Big K colas — the sugar and diet versions — as well as a cooler full of water.

Entry fees don’t benefit a local nonprofit organization. Rather, participants make their checks to the order of Bruce Gabow, the race’s director. As in years past, Gabow was at the starting line Saturday going over details of the course with the runners. However, just before the race started, he announced he would not be on hand for the post-run festivities.

“I’ll be at the Dalai Lama,” he said, noting that one of his volunteers would fill his spot.

Gabow never counts on a lot of runners to participate, unlike the Strawberry Days race in Glenwood or the Boogie’s Buddy 5-Mile and Race for the Cure in Aspen, which draw close to 1,000 participants on a good year. Saturday’s Runoff saw 48 finishers.

You’ll never see an overflow of extra T-shirts from the event either. That’s because Gabow has a long-standing arrangement with the maker of the race T-shirts. Once the race starts he calls the printer to place an order for a specific number of shirts. The race is long enough that the T-shirts are printed while it’s happening, and they’re made available at the finish area.

Suffice to say, Gabow operates this race on a shoestring budget, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The same can be said for a few other area foot races — the Basalt Half Marathon and the Aspen Race Series (comprising the Downtown Mile, Aspen Summer Uphill and the Severy cross-country races) come to mind.

All are races that boast finish- and starting-lines made of chalk, and are timed with a stopwatch — not a computer. And the race director is typically on hand at the end to congratulate the finishers, unless he’s attending a speech by a spiritual leader.

We should only be so lucky that these races stick around, provided they don’t change a thing.

Monday, July 28, 2008

China swipes at McCain over Dalai Lama meeting

BEIJING (AFP) — China warned US presidential candidate John McCain on Monday to stop "supporting and conniving with" the Dalai Lama, saying that meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader hurt Sino-US relations.

The call came after the Republican hopeful met the Dalai Lama on Friday during the latter's visit to the United States, praising him as a "transcendent international role model and hero".

"China is seriously concerned about the report," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said according to a statement on the ministry's website, adding that the Tibet issue was China's domestic affair.

Liu urged Americans to recognise that the Dalai Lama was trying to separate China and was aiming to destroy social stability in the western region "under the cloak of religion".

They should "stop supporting and conniving with the Dalai Lama and the separatist forces for 'Tibet independence,'" a tactic Liu said was damaging Sino-US relations.

McCain has criticised China's record on human rights in Tibet, which was thrown into the international spotlight in March during a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule that began in the region's capital, Lhasa.

The protests spread to other parts of China with Tibetan populations, with the government-in-exile saying 203 Tibetans were killed in the crackdown.

Beijing insists that only one Tibetan was killed, and has in turn accused the "rioters" of killing 21 people.

China has ruled Tibet since 1951, a year after sending troops in to "liberate" the remote Himalayan region.

The Dalai Lama fled his homeland in 1959 following a failed uprising and has since lived in exile in India.

China accuses him of being a separatist, but he insists he does not want independence for Tibet, seeking only greater autonomy for the Himalayan territory as well as an end to religious and cultural repression.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

McCain Meets With Dalai Lama as Olympics Near


By ELIZABETH HOLMES in Denver, JOHN D. MCKINNON in Washington and JASON DEAN in Beijing
July 26, 2008; Page A2

With the Beijing Olympics just two weeks away, Sen. John McCain brought China to the forefront of the foreign-policy debate Friday by meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Despite a recent focus on Europe and the Middle East because of Sen. Barack Obama's overseas trip, China is likely to dominate the news coverage in the coming weeks as the Games get under way.

The Republican presidential contender sat down with the exiled Tibetan spiritual and political leader in Aspen, Colo., to discuss "issues of mutual concern," a McCain aide said, including talks between the Dalai Lama and China, as well as how "the international community can best support the Dalai Lama in his efforts."

After the meeting with the Dalai Lama, Sen. McCain offered tough criticisms of China and urged its leaders to show more progress in addressing political grievances.

"The U.S. welcomes good relations with China, but it does no service to the Chinese government and certainly no service to the people of China for the U.S. and other democracies to pretend that the suppression of rights in China doesn't concern us," Sen. McCain said.

Over the years, activists have turned the Dalai Lama into a symbol not just of the struggle for Tibetan autonomy but, more broadly, of political and human rights in China. Especially given the timing, Sen. McCain's meeting is a strong show of sympathy for critics of the Chinese regime at a time when the world's attention is focused on the country.

Most voters see China as more of an adversary than an ally, according to The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released this week -- the survey showed 54% think of China as a foe, while only 23% view it as a friend -- even though a clear majority, 63%, believe President George W. Bush should attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, while only a quarter said he shouldn't. Sen. McCain's meeting with the Dalai Lama appears to be partly an effort to inoculate himself from the criticism Mr. Bush is likely to get from human-rights activists.

To some extent, "he's trying to draw a distinction between himself and the president, who's going to the Olympics," said Charles Freeman, a China scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

CONFLICT IN TIBET



Associated Press
Find complete coverage of the conflict in Tibet, including the latest news and a history of Tibetan resistance.Sen. Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, has spoken with the Dalai Lama twice in recent months, a campaign aide said. He talked by phone with the Dalai Lama in April, at the height of the Chinese government's crackdown on Tibet, and met with him in Sen. Obama's role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Obama also has expressed a willingness to meet with the spiritual leader one-on-one.

China's government strongly objects to foreign leaders meeting with the Dalai Lama, who Beijing insists wants to wrest Tibet from Chinese control. In the past year, Beijing has publicly lashed out at Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for hosting him. When Mr. Bush met privately at the White House with the Dalai Lama in October, a Chinese government spokesman blasted the meeting as "gross interference in China's internal affairs."

For his part, Mr. Bush tries to strike a delicate balance in his interactions with the Dalai Lama and with China more broadly. Mr. Bush has met three times with the Dalai Lama, but each time, the meeting has occurred in the presidential residence, not in the Oval Office -- a distinction meant to signal to the Chinese that the Dalai Lama was being received as a spiritual leader rather than as a political one. Still, on the last visit, in October, Mr. Bush presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the nation's highest civilian award, in a ceremony at the Capitol.

White House officials declined to comment on whether they thought Mr. McCain's meeting was meant to distance the candidate from Mr. Bush or score political points off China.

"As the Chinese tell us, any meetings on Tibet or with the Dalai Lama are a sensitive subject for them," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe. But he added that "when the president meets with him, he meets with him because he's a great spiritual leader, not a political figure."

John Ackerly, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, said Sen. McCain had requested the meeting months ago and that the Dalai Lama was looking for international support for his "efforts to engage the Chinese in a direct dialogue" on Tibetan autonomy. Talks earlier this summer were unsuccessful, and Mr. Ackerly said there were hopes for new talks after the Olympics.

Mr. Ackerly said the Dalai Lama was concerned that the meeting not appear to be an endorsement and that the Dalai Lama has talked with Sens. Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

McCain to meet Dalai Lama


Source: Boston.com
Maybe this will enable John McCain to compete for air time.

His campaign announced today that the presumptive Republican nominee will meet with the Dalai Lama on Friday, when Democrat Barack Obama will be hobnobbing with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

McCain will meet the Tibetan spiritual leader in Aspen, Colorado, where the Dalai Lama plans to address a symposium on Tibetan culture.

He has been in exile in India since a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal last October. The plight of the Tibetan people has drawn more attention leading up to the Olympics in Beijing last month.

UPDATE: "I have been a great admirer of the Dalai Lama," McCain said today while campaigning in Columbus, Ohio. He called him a "transcendent national role model."

In March, after China cracked down on monks demonstrating in Tibet, McCain urged the Chinese government to open a "genuine dialogue" with the Dalai Lama, whom he called "a man of peace who reflects the hopes and aspirations of Tibetans," and urged the release of monks detained for "peacefully expressing their views" and "full outside access" to Tibet.

In response, the Dalai Lama sent a letter to McCain, thanking him for "concern you have shown regarding the sad turn of events in Tibet and for your efforts to persuade the Chinese authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with the demonstrations."

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Guess who's not invited to the Olympics?


By Benjamin Kang Lim

BEIJING (Reuters) - The Dalai Lama may be the guest of honour of U.S. President George W. Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders, but you won't find Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on the Beijing Olympics guest list.

Also missing from the list is Ma Ying-jeou, the Harvard-educated, democratically elected president of self-ruled Taiwan which Beijing has claimed as its own since their split in 1949 amid civil war, despite a recent thaw in relations.

The Dalai Lama's appearance could have helped repair China's international image, which was dented by a government crackdown following rioting among Tibetans in March -- the worst in the Himalayan region since 1989. But China fears he would steal Chinese President Hu Jintao's thunder.

"It's supposed to be Hu Jintao's Olympics, but it'll become the Dalai Lama's Olympics if he attends," a source familiar with government policy said requesting anonymity.

The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, had said during a visit to London in May that he hoped to attend the August 8-24 Games if talks between his envoys and China produced results.

China has not rejected the Dalai Lama's overtures outright, but hopes were dampened when the closed-door talks ended with the government-in-exile accusing China of lacking sincerity.

The Chinese government has blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for instigating the March unrest and attempting to sabotage the Olympics, charges he has repeatedly denied.

For China, the Games are supposed to showcase the prosperity and modernization of what is now the world's fourth-biggest economy after three decades of economic reforms and rapid growth.

Friday, July 18, 2008

TIBET: DISMISSED WHO SENDS CHILDREN TO SCHOOLS DALAI LAMA


AGI) - Rome, July 18 - Civil servants in Tibet who send their children to schools opened abroad by the Dalai Lama and his followers will be dismissed without notice: the pro-Chinese government of the region has decided this, quoted by the 'South China Morning Post'. "These regulations", an official note printed by the daily explains, "go against the exploitation of temptations regarding education, of the board and lodging which the gang of the Dalai Lama offers to induce the young to cross the border. Tibetan civil servants whose children already study at those schools have two months to "convince them" to return to China: that way they avoid sanctions or well receive a mitigated treatment; otherwise they will be fired. The drastic measure targets the enormous influence the spiritual Buddhist leader still has in China, an follows the ferocious repression which in March crushed the protests led by the monks.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Dalai Lama not qualified to represent Tibet: China

Source:IANS
Beijing: China is willing to talk to the Dalai Lama about his future but not that of Tibet, a senior Chinese official has said.

"The central government will never discuss the future of Tibet with the Dalai Lama," Dong Yunhu, director general of the state council information office, said. "What we can discuss with him is his future and that of some of his supporters."

He explained the reason behind China's stand is because of the Dalai Lama's claim that he represents the Tibetan people.

"I don't think he is qualified to represent Tibet. If he ever did, it was before 1959," Dong added.

Also see: Dalai Lama disappointed by outcome of talks | Special: Blood on the Roof of the World | Full coverage: Tibetan uprising

Dalai Lama along with many of his supporters had fled Tibet and taken refuge in India when Chinese troops moved in and took control of Lhasa in 1959. He has been heading the Tibetan government in exile from the Indian hill station of Dharamshala ever since.

The Chinese official averred that the Tibetan people had overthrown the "theocratic system" and established the "People's Republic" in Tibet in 1959.

"He has lost all right to negotiate on the future of Tibet," Dong said.

Talks between the Dalai Lama's representatives and that of the Chinese government were held in Beijing between July 1 and 2. This was the first across-the-table negotiation between the two sides since the March 14 riots in Lhasa that killed 18 people and left hundreds of others injured.

China's response to the prospect of the Dalai Lama's return to Tibet has been guarded as became evident from the remarks of the director general of the state council information office.

Last week, a senior Chinese official had pointed out that if the Tibetan leader fulfilled some of the conditions put forward by Beijing, that include abjuring violence, abolishing his government-in-exile and distancing himself from the "violent activities" of the Tibetan Youth Congress, then China may consider his request to return to Lhasa.

Also see: Hand in hand — The PLA reaches out | Olympics flushes out Beijing’s toilet horrors

But Dong, quoting the late Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping, said "as long as Dalai Lama is willing to contribute for the development of China as a Chinese citizen" there is a prospect of his return.

"He must come back as a Chinese citizen. Independence, semi-independence or independence in disguise, is totally out of the question," Dong added.

Asked about the status of the current negotiations between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama's representatives, Dong said: "The first task is to increase mutual understanding, especially on the March 14 incident".

He said China has asked the Dalai Lama not to support any move to boycott the Beijing Olympic games due in August and not to support any violent activities or protest against China.

He alleged that the Dalai Lama and his supporters were behind the March 14 riots as they wanted to create violence to bring the focus of the world on Tibet when China was holding the Olympics.

Also see: Why should we trust China? | India-China: Imperfect harmony | How our maps ceded land to China

Dong said the "political position" of the Dalai Lama's representative, as has become clear during negotiations, is "totally contrary" to the position of the Chinese government.

"They deny that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and demand autonomy for 'Greater Tibet'. It means the Dalai Lama should rule all the land inhabited by Tibetans, nearly one-fourth of China, and Han Chinese should be moved out of those areas," Dong added. He made it clear that this was a position that was not acceptable to China.

Asked to comment on India's position on the Dalai Lama and the recent anti-Chinese protest by Tibetan supporters in Indian cities, Dong said Beijing was "appreciative" of the stand taken by New Delhi in preventing anti-Chinese protests in its territories.

"We hope India can adhere to this position of preventing supporters of Dalai Lama from using its territory to carry out anti-Chinese activities," Dong said.

He added: "This forms a very important political basis for China-India friendship."

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Athletes urged to show hands for Tibet at Olympics

The Times July 11, 2008

Ashling O'Connor, Olympics Correspondent
If a coach or athlete makes a “T” sign with their hands at the Olympic Games in Bejing next month, it will probably indicate their support for Tibet rather than a request for a refreshing cuppa at the finish line. With four weeks to go until the start of the first Olympics to be held in China, human rights activists are calling on competitors and spectators to show their concern for the situation in the Himalayan region by forming a “T for Tibet” with both hands.

Joanna Lumley and Jeremy Irons, the actors, are spearheading the campaign, which is launched today to refocus attention on Tibet after the issue consumed the Olympic torch relay in April, prompting a wave of violent protests along the international route.

Athletes will be encouraged to make the sign as a way of circumventing strict rules that prohibit political banners and flags inside the stadium and other Olympic venues. Anne Holmes, the acting director of the Free Tibet Campaign, said: “British and all other athletes must act as their consciences dictate. We would love to see an athlete dedicate a medal to Tibet, but we are making no demands.”

Athletes will also be guided on ways they can speak out in Beijing on Tibet without jeopardising their place at the Games. This includes voicing their concerns during press interviews after their events or wearing Free Tibet T-shirts around Tiananmen Square.

The IOC has said that athletes will be free to express their views during the Games but must not engage in any kind of “demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda” inside accredited areas. However, there is much uncertainty surrounding the definition of propaganda.

Making the “T” sign on the podium would probably be interpreted as a political statement and could result in tough sanctions. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the United States sprinters who won gold and bronze medals respectively, were suspended from the American team and banned from the Olympic Village for their Black Power salute on the podium at the 1968 Games in Mexico City in protest at racial oppression.

The IOC said that the focus of athletes should rest on sport, not politics. “We are aware that organisations are urging athletes to take stands on various issues,” Giselle Davies, the IOC's communications director, said. “How any result, if any, would be interpreted will come down to a commonsense approach, which the IOC will take.”

Friday, July 11, 2008

Dalai Lama calls for cultural, religious harmony

The Associated Press
BETHLEHEM, Pa.—The Dalai Lama has started a Pennsylvania visit with a call for cultural and religious harmony.
The 73-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner appeared in Lehigh University's Stabler Arena on Thursday. He is at the university for six days of talks on a 600-year-old Buddhist text.

The Dalai Lama called for greater understanding among people with problems in common, including economic and environmental threats and religious conflicts. He said those have included some negative opinions of Muslims overall in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, causing innocent and faithful people to suffer.

The Dalai Lama has been the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism since 1950. But he describes himself as just one human being among 6 billion and says, "We all survive under one sun."

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Dalai Lama "disappointed" by outcome of talks

Dharamsala, Jul 5 (PTI) The Dalai Lama is "disappointed" by the outcome of the latest round of talks with China, the Tibetan spiritual leader's special envoys today said, accusing Beijing of lacking commitment towards the dialogue process.
Special envoys Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen said that they have told Chinese officials during the two-day talks in Beijing that continuing the parleys on the Tibet issue will serve no purpose until the communist country takes "tangible" measures.

The Dalai Lama was "disappointed" on the outcome of the latest Beijing talks, the duo said in a statement here.

"In the course of our discussion, we were compelled to convey to our counterparts that in the absence of serious and sincere commitment on their part, the continuation of the present dialogue process would serve no purpose," they said.

It was the second round of talks after the May 4 parleys held in the aftermath of Beijing's massive crackdown on Tibetan protesters in March.

"Since Tibet has become an issue of great international concern, we had hoped the Chinese leadership would reciprocate our efforts by taking tangible steps during this round," the envoys said after briefing their 72-year-old spiritual leader.

"But on the contrary... The Chinese side even failed to agree to our proposal of issuing a joint statement with the aim of committing both parties to the dialogue process," they said in an unusually harsh statement.

The envoys said the Chinese side had expressed the view that the dialogue process has been productive and that it was needed to keep in mind that a half-a-century old issue of great complexity cannot be resolved in a matter of years.

They said the next rounds of talks on the vexed Tibet issue will be held in October. PTI

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Dalai Lama under fire at Tibet relay

Chinese officials used the visit of the Olympic torch to the Tibetan capital on Saturday to launch an attack on the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

The torch relay in Lhasa lasted for just over two hours, much shorter than had been planned before the unrest in Tibet in March. It went off without protests along a route lined with a heavy security presence.

"We will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique," said Zhang Qingli, Communist party secretary in Tibet, at the end of the event, according to Reuters.

Speaking in front of the Potala Palace, the Dalai Lama's former residence, Mr Zhang said: "Tibet's sky will never change and the red flag with five stars [China's flag] will forever flutter high above it."

The government has accused the Dalai Lama and other exiles of inciting the unrest, particularly the riot on March 14 when several Han Chinese were killed. The Dalai Lama has denied the charge. The torch goes next to Qinghai province.

The decision to carry on with the Tibet visithas been criticised by Tibetan exiles and human rights groups, which accuse the government of politicising the torch relay.

"This provocative decision - with the blessing of the International Olympic Committee - could aggravate tensions and undermine the fragile process to find a peaceful long-term solution," said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China.

"The government's insistence on parading the torch through Lhasa can only undermine the respect and trust required for a genuine dialogue with the Dalai Lama."

A small group of foreign reporters, allowed into Tibet to cover the event, said hundreds of paramilitary and other police were positioned along the route. They added that people living nearby were told to stay at home unless they had a special pass to witness the torch.