March isn't always the favorite month of Chinese leadership when it comes to the topic of Tibet/st1 :country-region>. Last year thousands of Buddhist monks rioted in the streets of Lhasa/st1 :city>, causing Chinese officials to crack down against the protests. Naturally, this wasn't exactly the PR strategy Beijing/st1 :city> had in mind with just months to go before the Beijing Olympics./span>
While we haven't seen such massive protests this March, it has far more symbolic significance. March 10, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary the Dalai Lama went into exile. /span>
Thousands of Tibetan activists staged protests yesterday to acknowledge this anniversary, but activity in China/st1 :country-region> was fairly subdued. Considering last year's commemoration of this time, and the Chinese government's response to it, this hardly comes as a surprise./span>
Tibetan sympathizers maintain that Tibet/st1 :country-region> is and should be an independent country and that the Tibetan people should have improved human rights. The Dalai Lama, however, has repeatedly said that he just wants autonomy for Tibet/st1 :country-region>, not independence. /span>
Much of the international community sympathizes with the Dalai Lama and his supporters. His claims this week that Tibet/st1 :country-region> is "hell on earth" further galvanized his supporters. /span>
Chinaspan style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Arial">, on the other hand, maintains that Tibetis "paradise on earth" and that it has been and should remain part of China/st1 :country-region>. Chinese leadership views the Dalai Lama and his supporters as somewhat of a fringe group that's trying to undermine China/st1 :place>'s sovereignty, and have called him names like "a monk in wolf's clothing."/span>
If, as Chinese officials claim, they have brought significant modernization and progress to Tibet/st1 :country-region>, why don't they allow more journalistic access to the region? /span>
On March 9, the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China reported multiple incidents of foreign journalists who were detained trying to cover parts of Tibet. Needless to say, this really isn't the best way to gain sympathy of the outside world./span>
If an upcoming Congressional bill is any indication, many U.S.politicians have more sympathy towards Tibet/st1 :country-region>'s cause. On Monday a House bill that would recognize "the Tibetan people for their perseverance in the face of adversity and for creating a democratic community in exile that sustains the Tibetan identity" and call upon the Obama Administration to pressure China/st1 :country-region> to "respect the Tibetans' identity and human rights" went to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs./span>
The timing of this bill, which coincides with this exile anniversary and the visit of China/st1 :country-region>'s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, was quite intentional. At this time, however, there's no indication whether or not it will get much traction in Congress, or how quickly this would happen./span>
Yang has already met with Sec. Clinton today, and tomorrow he will meet with President Obama. The White House has said that the global economic crisis will be the main focus of their discussions, but more controversial issues, including the confrontation of Chinese and U.S./st1 :country-region> naval ships should also come up./span>
It's possible that the topic of Tibetwill also be part of the discussions, but considering the efforts the U.S.and Chinahave made towards tackling the financial crisis, I highly doubt that any U.S.official will use this diplomatic visit as a time to pressure Chinaon Tibet/st1 :country-region>.
