Thursday, July 3, 2008

What?????


Last week, I was about to get a Coca-Cola when I noticed the company is "proud partners" with Beijing 2008. After seeing that, I had to put it down (I like Pepsi better anyway). Below is an example of precisely why I am so angry with the Chinese and what they have been doing.

Now is this a fair demand? China is insisting the Dalai Lama renounce violence and Tibetan Independence. Am I reading this correctly?

BEIJING (AP) — China insists the Dalai Lama prove he doesn't support Tibetan independence or disruption of the Beijing Olympics, telling two envoys for the spiritual leader that such "positive actions" are needed before further talks, a state news agency said Thursday.

The demand made by a top Chinese official in two days of meetings indicated no change in Beijing's position toward the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has long spoken against violence but is frequently demonized by China's Communist leadership.

Beijing has accused him and his supporters of fomenting anti-government protests that rocked Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas of China in March.

The charge has been repeatedly rejected by the Tibetan government-in-exile, which said Thursday that the Dalai Lama had been "tireless" in expressing his commitment to nonviolence.

"He has also gone out of his way to publicly announce his support for the Beijing Olympics. He has even said that he would like to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics to show his support," said Thupten Samphal, a spokesman for the exile government in Dharmsala, India.

Asking the Dalai Lama to "renounce violence" is like asking Al-Qaeda to "renounce peace". If anyone should be renouncing violence, it is the Chinese...through all they have been doing to his people, the Dalai Lama is still looking for dialogue with China, yet they actually have the nerve to accuse him of fomenting the violence that has plagued Tibet in recent months.

2 comments:

Mirandian said...

I think Beijing is trying to get the recent Tibetan Protests/Violence curbed through the Dalai Lama. There are these younger generation Tibetans who feel that the path of Non Violence is taking them nowhere closer to Freedom/Tibetan Independence...and this China wants to control through the Dalai Lama who is the Spiritual Head of all Tibetans.

PS:- I never could distinguish between Cocal Cola & Pepsi...I guess I never tried! For me both are coke!;-)

Anand said...

Right on Mirandian regarding Coke and Pepsi. ;-)

The Dalai Lama had me at hello. What an amazing person. The Chinese will realize it before the end.