Fireworks burst across Tibetan skies overnight as Buddhists celebrated the Dalai Lama's meeting with President Barack Obama today.
Peter Terpstra
celebrated the Dalai Lama's meeting with President Barack Obama today, but
there were no festivities in Hong Kong where American sailors reportedly got
a cool reception from their Chinese hosts.
The Dalai Lama, a Buddhist monk, is the spiritual head of his coreligionists
in Tibet, and lobbies for self-rule in the mountainous area that China
claims as its own. He lives in exile in India but travels frequently.
Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a separatist terrorist, and resents his
high profile overseas and the warm reception he often gets from foreign
leaders.
China has threatened for weeks that U.S.-Sino relations will suffer if Obama
meets the Tibetan leader. But the Dalai Lama arrived in Washington Wednesday
and heads to the White House later today.
Beijing is already fuming over a $6.4 billion U.S. arms deal with Taiwan,
which China also considers a separatist territory. Ties with Washington have
also been rocky after trade deals and allegations of Chinese cyber-spying.
In Hong Kong, Chinese army chiefs skipped a ceremonial tour and reception
with American sailors on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which pulled into
the Chinese harbor on Wednesday. The South China Morning Post described
their absence as "an apparent snub" and quoted an American official as
saying they were "being sent a clear message" about Chinese displeasure.
Port visits to the former British colony, which reverted to Chinese
sovereignty in 1997, have to be approved by Beijing and such permission has
been used as a political tool in the past. In 2007, the USS Kitty Hawk was
turned away at the last minute from making a Thanksgiving holiday stop in
Hong Kong, in the wake of a smaller U.S. arms deal with Taiwan and after
then-President George W. Bush awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the
Dalai Lama.
The Nimitz, plus four support vessels and a crew of some 5,000 sailors, was
granted permission to dock and is scheduled to be berthed in Hong Kong until
the weekend. But Chinese officials also usually greet and tour visiting
ships on arrival, and their absence – on the very day the Dalai Lama arrived
in Washington – was conspicuous.
The mood couldn't be more different hundreds of miles north near the Dalai
Lama's birthplace in northwest China, where his followers heralded his White
House visit with a grand display of fireworks.
"My heart is filled with joy," a beaming monk named Johkang told Reuters.
"It is so important for us that this is happening, that the U.S. has not
given in to threats and will meet our leader."
Tibetans normally set off fireworks around this time of year to celebrate
their lunar new year, Losar. But many said today's festivities were also to
mark the events in Washington. "We do this whenever something big, and good
happens," another monk was quoted as saying. A group of monks burned a
religious offering of flour and a ceremonial Tibetan scarf, while the sound
of others blowing into conch shells echoed through their valley.
On his arrival in Washington Wednesday, the Dalai Lama joined other
Buddhists at a Losar ceremony held in a downtown hotel.
The White House is trying to keep today's meeting low-key and has said the
two won't appear in public together. They're scheduled to meet in the White
House Map Room rather than in the Oval Office, where American presidents
normally meet dignitaries and foreign leaders.
The Dalai Lama's special envoy, Lodi Gayari, told reporters Wednesday that
it's "important in itself that the meeting is happening." He said that the
Dalai Lama would ask Obama to "help find a solution in resolving the Tibet
issue that would be mutually beneficial to the Tibetan and Chinese people."
Tibet is one of the issues human rights activists want the White House to
take action on. China is accused of imprisoning tens of thousands of
political opponents and cracking down on religious freedom in Tibet. Dozens
of people were killed and hundreds imprisoned after riots there in 2008.
Meanwhile, a new poll out today finds that nearly three-quarters of all
Americans think Tibet should be an independent country. But the CNN/Opinion
Research Corp. survey also says most Americans think it's more important to
maintain good relations with China than to take a stand on Tibet.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that Obama
believes the U.S. relationship with China is strong enough to endure some
arguments.
"I think a mature relationship between two countries allows you to do things
like working on non-proliferation on North Korea or working on a response to
the global economic crisis, but also have disagreement," Gibbs said.
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