Subject: [Homestead] China, Tibet, Olympic boycott--here's one answer
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 12:07:55 -0500
Having just read a book about the Dalai Lama, I was thinking that the
Tibet issue is irresolvable, that Tibetans who look to the Dalai Lama
as their leader are destined to lives of desperation, discontent and
disillusion. I still lean toward that conclusion, but these thoughts
by Nicholas Kristoff are enlightening and persuasive. I wonder if he
would accept Ambassador of Good Will in our fantasy administration?
A Not-So-Fine Romance
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: April 3, 2008
In the aftermath of the Tibet upheavals, the complicated romance
between America and China is degenerating into mutual recriminations,
muttering about Olympic boycotts and tensions that are likely to rise
through the summer.
It would be convenient if we could simply denounce the crackdown in
Tibet as the unpopular action of a dictatorial government. But it
wasn’t. It was the popular action of a dictatorial government, and
many ordinary Chinese think the government acted too wimpishly,
showing far too much restraint toward “thugs” and “rioters.”
China and the U.S. clash partly because of competing interests, but
mostly because of competing narratives. To Americans, Tibet fits
neatly into a framework of human rights and colonialism. To Chinese,
steeped in education of 150 years of “guochi,” or national
humiliations by foreigners, the current episode is one more effort by
imperialistic and condescending foreigners to tear China apart or hold
it back.
So what do we do? A boycott of the Olympic Games themselves is a
nonstarter. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has raised the possibility of a
boycott of the opening ceremony, and that is plausible.
The best answer is: Postpone the decision until the last minute so as
to extort every last ounce of good behavior possible out of the
Chinese government — on Darfur as well as Tibet. But at the end of the
day, if there have been no further abuses, President Bush should
attend — for staying away would only inflame Chinese nationalism and
make Beijing more obdurate.
If President Bush attends the ceremonies, however, he should balance
that with a day trip to a Tibetan area. Such a visit would underscore
American concern, even if the Chinese trot out fake monks to express
fake contentment with fake freedom.