Raising issues sure to stoke China's ire, Obama used his first presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama to press Beijing, which has faced international criticism for its Tibet policies, to preserve Tibet's identity and protect its people's human rights.
Obama sat down with the Dalai Lama, reviled by Beijing as a dangerous separatist but admired by millions around the world as a man of peace, in the face of wider tensions over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, Beijing's currency policies and Chinese Internet security.
"The president commended the Dalai Lama's ... commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," the White House said in a written statement after the nearly hour-long meeting.
Obama encouraged China and the Dalai Lama's envoys to keep up efforts to resolve their differences through negotiations, despite recent talks having yielded little progress.
The White House said Obama and the Dalai Lama also "agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China."
While defying Chinese demands to scrap the talks, the White House took pains to keep the encounter low-key, barring media coverage of the meeting itself, in an apparent bid to placate Beijing.
But after the talks the Dalai Lama, clad in sandals and burgundy robes, spoke to reporters on the White House driveway, saying he had expressed to Obama his admiration for the United States as a "champion of democracy, freedom, human values."
With the two giant economies so deeply intertwined, tensions are considered unlikely to escalate into outright confrontation. The White House expects only limited fallout.
But the Dalai Lama's visit could complicate Obama's efforts to secure China's help on key issues such as imposing tougher sanctions on Iran, resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff and forging a new global accord on climate change.
By going ahead with the meeting over Chinese objections, Obama may be trying to show his resolve against an increasingly assertive Beijing after facing criticism at home for being too soft with China's leaders on his trip there in November.
On the eve of the Dalai Lama's visit, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insisted the United States and China -- the world's largest and third-biggest economies -- have a "mature relationship" capable of withstanding disagreements.
8 comments:
I don't think anyone understands the real meaning behind the meeting as of now. This seems like an unnecessary way to start a conflict. But, on the other hand, he is supposed to be the head of the American people so if there was pressure here perhaps he was just trying to placate us.
I think it was a good move for President Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama, despite China's stance towards the issue. We cannot let China coerce us into changing our values and morals. It was also a smart public relations move for the President of the United States to meet with a globally renowned peacemaker.
I believe the Chinese requirements of the United States are moot. They hold no real power over our political decisions. The same is true in reverse. No matter what we wish Beijing to do, they will ultimately do as they please. Economically each country is so codependent that any military strike is not only improbable but practically impossible. I don't think the Chinese would in any way want to lessen the value of all the T-bonds they own. That means not hurting our economy or , of course, bombing the U.S.. As far as Tibet and the Dalai Lama go, I think the Chinese opinion of this country is wrong but, is not going to be changed. The Chinese are steadfast.
Obama is in no position to try to better things between Beijing and the Dalai Lama. Sticking our noses where they don't belong will just complicate things between China and the U.S. and even between China and Tibet. The fact that Obama is trying to promote peace between the two factions is only angering China and pushing them to make drastic moves that are the opposite of what are needed against Tibet and the U.S..
I think President Obama was smart to meet publicly with a peacemaker. It may on the other hand cause a deepening understanding but may also cause fighting and riots. We as a nation should be stronger than china so we should stand our ground and not be held to the chinese in their morals but as our own morals set by ourselves.
I think President Obama was smart to meet publicly with a peacemaker. It may on the other hand cause a deepening understanding but may also cause fighting and riots. We as a nation should be stronger than china so we should stand our ground and not be held to the chinese in their morals but as our own morals set by ourselves.
I believe that President Obama should be able to make his own political decisions with out being pressured by China. While China may disagree with the Dalai Lama, the United States should not be upheld to the same opinion.
Hahaha...this is hilarious. Um...so basically, the U.S. is so deathly afraid of China and what they can do to hurt us, that they forget that first off, the United States has the largest economy in the world; the U.S. has the biggest international influence on the world; and that the world is based on THE UNITED STATES!!!! Geez...this whole Dalai Llama thing is rather ridiculous in that the U.S. really shouldn't fear China; in fact, they should embrace the idea of spitting in their face with the entire world's support!!! MUAHAHA!!! Is there anyone else who opposes the meeting?...um a no! Wait...North Korea may have a problem...oops.
However, the U.S. will lose any chance with North Korea. But that was a fail to start with. The U.S. is retarded to even think that they had any kind of chance of saving or doing anything to North Korea to stop them in their nuclear ambitions. The U.S. should also just accept that any kind of foreign relation where China is envolved is going to fail. This includes Darfur, North Korea, Venezuela...haha YES, even Venezuela. They do like to trade their oil to the big ChinaMonster.
So...how do we solve this? Well...we put smart sanctions on North Korea and put it through the UN and if China opposes it will be very obvious to the rest of the world that they are pro nuclear for their precious poor dirty ally known as Kim Jong Il. Then, we use the Dalai Llama as a big speaker at a hearring to basically turn the entire world against China and their human rights abuses, their massive load of ignorance, and their pro nuclear efforts for that fail of a country that they have been supporting for decades. Now this may be a bit of a bluff, but China will fold. Because no matter how powerful the GREAT CHINA is...MONSTERCHINA VS WORLD means a loss for China. Then...we can tag on a few luxuries for us such as a couple trillion dollars that they can spare.
You see what the Dalai Llama can do? He's amazing isn't he?
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