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-JULY, 1996- |
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Britain will press China on human rights in Tibet
July 17, 1996 Web posted at: 9:15 p.m. EDT (0115 GMT)
From Correspondent Margaret Lowrie
LONDON (CNN) -- Britain Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind told the Dalai Lama Wednesday that Britain and its European Union partners will continue to challenge China on human rights in Tibet.
Rifkind said Britain shares the exiled Tibetan leader's concern about the threat to Tibet's cultural identity, according to an unnamed Foreign Office spokesman.
The weeklong visit to Britain by the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet 37 years ago after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, has angered Beijing and chilled British-Chinese relations.
China regards the Dalai Lama, who was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1989, as an instigator of independence for Tibet -- with Britain as one of his main backers.
Rifkind said Britain hopes that talks without preconditions between Chinese authorities and Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, can begin without delay.
The Dalai Lama is in Britain on a goodwill mission to seek support. So far this week, he's talked to journalists, lawmakers in Parliament and members of the public. He also plans to meet privately with the Queen.
The 61-year-old spiritual and political leader of Tibet, who is revered by millions of Buddhists as "the God King," wants Britain to press for talks with China about autonomy for Tibet.
"We need political solution, that the best way is genuine self rule. That I feel (is) mutually agreeable solution," the Dalai Lama said. "Now, today, I want to issue an appeal to you, please help us ... the Peoples Republic of China ... to bring to the negotiation table."
Tibet has other backers
China invaded Tibet in 1950 and has occupied it ever since. The Dalai Lama, who escaped into exile in India in 1959, called it a "cultural genocide."
"In a sense, the Dalai Lama represents a serious challenge to the ability of the government in Beijing to rule effectively," said Gerald Segal with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
"It's clear that the vast majority of the Tibetan population resists Chinese rule and, therefore, the Dalai Lama is the symbol of the struggle of people for independence."
The Chinese warn that the Dalai Lama's visit has "an adverse effect" on Chinese-British relations. But those "relations" were already complicated by the sensitive issue of Hong Kong, which Britain hands back next year.
"So much of the negotiations over Hong Kong has been more or less a question of Britain rolling over and accepting Chinese terms," Segal said. "There has to be a way in which it can be said to the Chinese 'we will resist, we have different views, we have different policies.' And to some extent, the policy towards the Dalai Lama is one of the better ways to convey that symbol."
Observers say whatever the political fallout, Britain does not stand alone. During the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Germany, it, too, condemned China's human rights record in Tibet.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Dalai Lama calls for pressure on China over Tibet
July 16, 1996 Web posted at: 1:00 p.m. EDT (1500 GMT)
LONDON (CNN) -- The Dalai Lama called Tuesday for a concerted international effort to pressure China to improve human rights in Tibet and to start negotiations with his government in exile.
Addressing members of the British parliament, the 60-year-old Tibetan spiritual and political leader reaffirmed his commitment to non-violent resistance to Chinese authorities in Tibet.
The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, heads a government in exile based at the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where more than 100,000 Tibetan refugees now live.
China predicted the Dalai Lama's visit would harm relations with Britain.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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July 9, 1996 Web posted at: 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT)
BEIJING (CNN) -- After talks between U.S. National Security Adviser Anthony Lake and senior Chinese leaders, the two countries are playing down their differences on sensitive issues. Lake, on the second day of a five-day visit to China, met Tuesday with President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng.
The talks, which a senior U.S. official traveling with Lake described as positive and cordial, "reflective of a mutual appreciation that we've gotten through a difficult few months," marked the resumption of top-level dialogue following a series of damaging trade and diplomatic disputes. The official, who declined to be identified, suggested Lake's visit is an effort to prevent future displays of publicly vented problems.
In the last year, relations between the U.S. and China have ridden a virtual roller coaster of ups and downs on issues of copyright piracy, allegations China sold nuclear missile parts to Pakistan and the U.S. decision to grant Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui a visa for a private visit last year, a move Beijing took as a sign that Washington was encouraging Taiwan independence.
Future visits discussed
During Lake's meeting Tuesday with Jiang both sides stressed the need for further dialogue, having agreed in principle on a China visit by Vice President Al Gore or his successor later this year or in early 1997.
There was also agreement that reciprocal head-of-state visits over the next few years "would be useful," the senior official said. Later, White House spokesman Mike McCurry added that such visits would not likely take place this year.
Discussions also touched on human rights, weapons non-proliferation, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a U.S.-Japan security agreement, China's closed domestic market and its bid to join the World Trade Organization. But it did not appear that progress in any of those areas was that important to either side, at least during this trip.
In fact, U.S. officials stressed Lake's visit is part of an effort by both sides to encourage stability and develop a relationship based more on mutual expectations and predictability.
The Chinese leaders reaffirmed that Taiwan remains the most sensitive issue in the Sino-U.S. relationship, while Lake agreed that Taipei and Beijing should sort out their differences alone, as long as they did so peacefully. China considers Taiwan a renegade province still under its rule.
Lake is to meet China's top Taiwan policy official, Wang Daohan, in Shanghai on Wednesday.
Bureau Chief Andrea Koppel and Reuters contributed to this report.
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