Pelosi Thumbs China's Eye With Praise for the Dalai Lama
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, today, praising the Tibetan spiritual leader for his courage and leadership in the face of Beijing's crackdown on recent anti-China protests in Tibet.
If freedom loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in Tibet we have lost all moral authority to speak on human rights anywhere in the world. The cause of Tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world -- a challenge we can help meet...When we return home we will bring your message and try to meet the challenge to our conscience.
The high-profile visit intensifies the pressure on Beijing's leaders to restore order in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, where at least 18 civilians have been killed in recent days in clashes between protesters and Chinese military police.
Not that the world isn't accustomed to this sort of thing from Beijing. China took control over Tibet in 1951, and protests calling for Tibetan autonomy have flared up periodically since then -- usually with violence; always without success. The recent conflict has gained greater worldwide audience than others, however, because of China's role as host of this summer's Olympic Games.
No word yet on what Pelosi has in mind to do to meet the challenge of her conscience, but President George W. Bush has already declared his plan: He'll be attending the Olympic Games in August -- as a fan of sports, not as a political statement, the administration says. Yesterday, White House press secretary Dana Perino reiterated that distinction, claiming that administration higher-ups "are very concerned about what's happening in Tibet, and we have expressed those concerns [to Chinese officials]." That's the White House position as it pertains to the violence, Perino said. And as it pertains to the Olympics? Here's Perino again:
[C]ertainly the President wants to make sure that our athletes have a really good experience, and I think that most heads of state around the world believe that, too.
That's all well and good, but if China this year isn't held in account for its brutal methods, what's to convince the next tyrannical Olympic host to alter its ways? Recall: the 2014 Winter Games are set to be held in Russia.
Comments:
Posted 03/22/2008 05:32pm with
I was sitting in an internet cafe in Beijing a couple of years ago reading a story in the Guardian about someone who was seized by the CIA and put in a prison in, I believe it was Morocco, where he was subjected to tortures that included surgically mutilating his penis. I described that to a friend of mine, an ex-cop, and his reply was something to the effect of – “Wow that’s fucked up – your government does that and then criticizes China for their human rights?”
Last year police in Beijing cracked down on African drug dealers by seizing any black skinned person the came across, beating them and dragging them to the police station. An American journalist went to the police station and, while talking to the police, criticized them for their violence. The cop said something to the effect of, “Sure, and your government never does anything like that, huh?”
I would never belittle the horrors of the Chinese crack down in Tibet. But Pelosi doesn’t have to worry about the US government loosing its moral authority over not speaking out on Tibet. That ship sailed a while ago…
Posted 03/23/2008 04:01pm with
I believe that not speaking out is worse than being silent because we’re worried about hypocrisy. Yes, the US has loads of abuse and neglect to account and atone for, but let us do that also, starting with each citizen, rather than cease to speak out about egregious acts. Imagine if a mighty nation spoke out against the US and had the power to wield sanctions against us? Maybe we’d finally clean up our act. Remember the Cold War? That’s when we were actually scared of another country. Hell, remember protests? When it felt like our own country could be held accountable by us, the citizens?
Posted 03/24/2008 11:46am with
I don’t condone China’s crackdown, but Israel’s behavior needs to be considered in this situation. Without accusing anyone of supporting violence and without passing judement, Gaza’s being declared a humanitarian disaster by numerous human rights agencies tarnishes any US credibility in criticizing the crackdown in Tibet. Sure, Israel claims its actions are necessary for national security. I’m sure China does too. There are contextual differences between the two situations, but if human rights truly are universal, its is of no matter.