THE ice may be thawing on the “roof of the world”, as signs show China is inching closer towards an agreement with the Dalai Lama that could allow him to return to Tibet after more than half a century in exile.
A Chinese official has said talks are in progress, while Beijing censors have permitted the publication of an article describing the outlines of a deal between the Tibetan spiritual leader and President Xi Jinping.
A deal on Tibet would be a huge prize for Mr Xi and ease tensions between China and India, whose troops have just ended a dangerous stand-off in the Tibetan border region. The talks envisage a pilgrimage by the Dalai Lama to a Buddhist shrine in China, meetings with Chinese leaders and an eventual return.
The first clue of a thaw came last month when Wu Yingjie, deputy secretary of the Communist Party in Tibet, disclosed that talks were under way with an envoy of the Dalai Lama and were “going smoothly”. Mr Wu also said, however, that the Dalai Lama must accept Tibet was part of China and stop “separatist activities”.
The message seemed to get through. On August 27, the Dalai Lama, at a conference in Germany on “finding common ground”, said he no longer used the term “government in exile”.
Asked about visiting China, he said: “I’ve always wanted to visit Wu Tai Shan” — a sacred Buddhist mountain in northern China.
He said contacts “were increasing” and quoted Mr Xi as saying Buddhism had an important role to play in reviving Chinese culture. Days later, he said he was “very optimistic” about returning, and last Thursday he called Mr Xi “more realistic, more open-minded” than others.
The Dalai Lama, now 79, stayed in Lhasa after the Chinese invasion in 1950 and negotiated with many Communist leaders, including Mr Xi’s father, Xi Zhongcun, who the Dalai Lama said was “very friendly”.
However, he fled to India in 1959 after a Tibetan uprising was crushed. Since then he has been a symbol of peaceful reconciliation and a hate figure in Chinese propaganda — he is called “a devil, a liar and a splittist”.
So it was a surprise when, on September 17, Chinese censors let an article on the talks appear for a day on Sina.com, a popular website. Quoting “informed sources”, it said the Dalai Lama “may return as a pilgrim visiting Wu Tai Shan” and would be met by senior figures from Beijing.
Such a deal, it said, would “instantly destroy” the radical Tibetan administration in exile and rob the West of “a pretext to attack China”, adding: “This would be a chance for Secretary Xi to rack up many victories with one move.”
Source Credit: The Sunday Times via The Australian
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