In September 2002, envoys of the Dalai Lama arrived in Beijing to take part in what has become the most serious round of Sino-Tibetan talks since the early 1990s. Since then, the Dalai Lama's representatives have undertaken four further trips to meet with Chinese officials from the United Front Work Department. In a formal statement following the third visit, which took place in September 2004, the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy Lodi Gyari described the meetings as 'the most extensive and serious exchange of views' between the parties to date. The Envoys' official statement after the latest round of talks in Berne, Switzerland, in July 2005, reported that the Chinese side conveyed the information that: 'The Central leadership of the Chinese Communist Party attached great importance to the contact with His Holiness the Dalai Lama' (for the full statement see: http://www.savetibet.org/news/newsitem.php?id=773).
Pressure to renew contacts with the Dalai Lama has come not only externally from Western governments, lobbied by the Tibet support movement, but also, from within China, by prominent Chinese and Tibetans.
The Sino-Tibetan dialogue and Western governments
The Dalai Lama has reiterated his commitment to seek a solution based on genuine autonomy for Tibetans within the People's Republic of China, and he has asked for international support for his non-violent efforts to achieve this goal. This wish for autonomy is consistent with China's Constitution, the Dalai Lama has maintained
It is unlikely that Beijing would have renewed contact with the Dalai Lama's envoys in September 2002 if it were not for sustained high-level representations in support of dialogue made by interested foreign governments. In the United States, The US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Paula Dobriansky (Under-Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs) has played an important role in maintaining and directing the priority attention of the US administration in support of dialogue.
US and European governmental involvement is particularly important in encouraging the dialogue process to the next level - and to ensuring that resolution is achieved through substantive, meaningful negotiations.
Promoting the dialogue process will also support the efforts of those working within China to promote reform in other areas, such as freedom of expression and democracy.
Why dialogue is in China's interests
According to China experts, a section of the Chinese leadership believes that the Tibetan issue will disappear if they only wait for the passing away of the Dalai Lama. However, some PRC scholars have said that by isolating the Dalai Lama, China could miss an historic opportunity to permanently resolve the Tibet issue. These scholars maintain that by dealing with the Dalai Lama and finding a mutually satisfactory solution on Tibet with him, the Chinese leaders can ensure the internal stability of China and bolster China's international image. If the Dalai Lama were to pass away without a solution to the Tibetan issue, China will lose the only partner who has the legitimacy and authority and the willingness to consider China's interest, too.
There are long-term strategic advantages for China in dialogue with the Dalai Lama and a resolution on Tibet. Even some Chinese scholars have pointed this out. For instance, some academics from Beijing recently said that rapprochement with the Dalai Lama would reduce China's strategic risks in the volatile region of the Indian subcontinent.
- The Tibetan cause and the leadership of the Dalai Lama have legitimacy in the eyes of the world that China lacks
- For more than ten years, the Dalai Lama has made the pragmatic offer to relinquish the goal of independence in favor of genuine autonomy, a proposal that is consistent with China's Constitution. The Dalai Lama took this position in the late 1980s and he remains committed to it even today. The Dalai Lama is the only person who can unite Tibetans in Tibet and in exile and with the moral authority to ensure that such a solution could be implemented in Tibet
- While the Tibetan areas are recognized as 'Tibetan autonomous' by China, the Tibetan people lack decision-making authority and participation in the development of their society as ensured in the various laws on autonomy.
- With increased awareness, more Chinese, particularly students and intellectuals, are coming out with commentaries and discussions on the Chinese-language internet supporting the rights of the Tibetans and among analysts in China indicate some interest in engaging in talks to resolve the situation. These views are reaching a larger audience as Chinese political discourse becomes more plural and diverse. A recent document circulating among Chinese Party officials states, 'Anyone who thinks the Tibet issue should be dragged on until after the death of the 14th Dalai Lama is naive, unwise, and [supporting] the wrong policy.' For the first time, Chinese intellectuals are writing in support of the Dalai Lama. A provocative essay by Wang Lixiong, who is based in Beijing, called 'The Dalai Lama is the Key to the Tibet Problem', has even been circulated within the Party. (Source: Sino-Tibetan Dialogue in the Post-Mao era: Lessons and Prospects by Tashi Rabgey and Tseten Wangchuk Sharlho, www.eastwestcenter.org).
- China's rapid economic development has failed in helping the Tibetan people develop - new research shows that Tibetans are suffering from high poverty rates, high rural-urban inequality and poor education indicators. The economy is propped up by subsidies and is unsustainable in the long-term. This increases the need for a lasting solution in partnership with the Dalai Lama, the only person to command the loyalty of Tibetans in Tibet and in exile. After his death, the outcome is uncertain.
The International Campaign for Tibet lobbies Western governments to do the following:
- Promote and encourage substantive dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership to resolve the Tibetan problem.
- Strengthen human rights dialogue with a more transparent, coordinated approach among China's many dialogue partners
- Support increased development assistance to the Tibetan people, both the community in exile and those living in Tibet, in a manner consistent with the preservation of Tibetan identity
2005 Negotiations
- Statement by Special Envoy Of His Holiness The Dalai Lama
July 7, 2005 - US Department of State Comments on Fourth Round of Talks
July 1, 2005 - State Department Report on Tibet Negotiations
PDF Version
April 2005 - EU Urges Unconditional Talks on Tibet and Offers to Become More Involved
March 10th, 2005
2004 Negotiations
- Dalai Lama's Envoys Have 'Most Extensive and Serious' Discussions with Chinese Leaders
Oct. 13, 2004 - EU statement on the visit of the Dalai's Lama's envoys to China
Sept. 16, 2004 - US State Department: Visit of the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy to China
Sept. 7, 2004 - United States Calls for Dialogue on Tibet Without Preconditions
July 10th, 2004 - 2003 US House Report on Negotiations
2003 Negotiations
- Tibetan Delegation 'Greatly Encouraged' by Exchange with Chinese Counterparts; ICT Still Concerned about Mixed Signals from China
June 11, 2003 - 'A Good Start' Dalai Lama Says of Talks between Tibet, China
June 4, 2003 - U.S. 'Pleased' by Second Visit of Dalai Lama's Envoys
May 28, 2003
2002 Negotiations
- Statement by Special Envoy Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari, Head of the Delegation that Visited China and Tibet
Sept. 28, 2002 - EU President Welcomes Visit of the Dalai Lama's Representatives to China and Tibet
September 16th, 2002 - Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Visits Beijing, Lhasa
September 9, 2002
