Even as talks between the envoys of the Dalai Lama and the government of China resume after breaking off in July, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader expressed his fears that an agreement over Tibetan autonomy would never be reached. Aides hinted at a major policy shift toward China in light of the failed talks and commented that the Dalai Lama had lost hope in trying to reach a solution with the present Chinese leadership. In April, protests against Chinese rule sparked a violent Chinese crackdown in Tibet that drew worldwide condemnation.

In 2007, China passed a law granting Beijing sole authority in the naming of the Dalai Lama's successor. The law declared that reincarnation could only take place inside China, and that only the government could declare some one to be a soul child--the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama. As with the bishops in the Catholic Church, China intends to replace lamas who are pro-Tibet with those who would be loyal to Beijing.

Labels: China, Dalai Lama, reincarnation

When referring to the Pope or the Dalai Lama, most of the world uses a specific form of address that recognizes the standing each man holds as a religious leader: His Holiness. The Chinese leadership in Beijing prefers to view these men from their side of the political looking glass, and what they see are two grave threats to communist party rule in China. Perspective is everything.

China is the fourth largest nation on the planet with the world's largest population and the world's largest standing army. China possesses sophisticated military hardware and has both nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them anywhere in the world. The leadership of this nation that much of the world believes will define the 21st century, fear a pair of old men who spend much of their days in prayer.

While Pope Benedict XVI and the Dalai Lama are influential world figures, neither commands a military force with which to wage war. The Vatican City-State is roughly the size of Zhongnanhai—the former imperial playground where the China's communist elite reside—and the Dalai Lama's residence in exile at Dharamsala is similarly small.

So what is it about these two old men that China fears: moral authority. Both the Pope and the Dalai Lama represent a belief that each individual is endowed with certain human rights as part of their existence, and each man can speak with the moral authority to challenge the Chinese government.

The Dalai Lama recently visited Washington, DC and Ottawa, where he was received with full ceremonial honors. Beijing was quite vocal in its objections to the Dalai Lama's warm reception in both capitols, decrying the blatant and gross interference in China's internal affairs that undermined China's relations with both offending countries. Beijing went so far as to denounce the Canadian Prime Minister's disgusting conduct in warmly receiving the Dalai Lama.

The exiled Tibetan leader works tirelessly to secure the liberty and autonomy enjoyed by the citizens of Hong Kong for the Tibetan people, but Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a splittist agitating for Tibetan independence. Tibet came under Chinese control in 1951, when the People’s Liberation Army liberated Tibet from the Tibetans.

Pope Benedict has similarly irked Beijing, first by naming Bishop Zen of Hong Kong a cardinal in 2006, then by posting an open letter to all Chinese Catholics this past summer. Both actions resulted in increased persecution of the underground Roman Catholic Church in China.

The Pope and the Dalai Lama are scheduled to meet on December 13th at the Vatican and already the threats and objections are pouring out of Beijing. Where this differs from the empty rhetoric that typically accompanies a visit by the Dalai Lama to any world capitol is that the Holy See does not enjoy diplomatic and trade relations with China, so China is free to act on its threats. In the wake of the December meeting between the two holy men, I expect the head of the Patriotic Church will announce the appointment of several new bishops in China, none of whom will be to Rome’s liking. If that happens, don't expect to see the Holy See exchanging ambassadors with beijing any time soon.

Labels: China, Dalai Lama, pope, Vatican

The Dalai Lama recently visited Washington, DC, where he met privately with the president and later received a Congressional Gold Medal for his work in the field of human rights. Beijing threw a tantrum that included strongly worded demands that the U.S. Government correct this grave error and cancel both the ceremony and the president's meeting with the exiled Tibetan leader. There were also reports that Chinese hackers attacked Internet search engines in the U.S., misdirecting requests for Google and Yahoo to the Baidu site instead.

The oft-cited reason for China's ire was our interference in their internal affairs. Near as I can tell, an act of Congress to honor someone is an internal affair of the United States, and China's demands constitute the same type of interference that they are decrying. Of course, China's 1951 invasion of Tibet had little on that nation’s internal affairs.

Pope Benedict and the Dalai Lama have much in common with regard to China. Beijing fears and despises both men because they speak for a persecuted segment of Chinese society and represent a moral authority that could challenge China's totalitarian regime. It is interesting to see a state with the largest standing military, in the midst of a military expansion since the U.S. entered World War II, terrified of two old men in command of nothing more that their personal bodyguards. But even Mao knew that people of faith believe in something greater that the state, and that is where the danger lies.

At the end of May, Pres. Bush held an off the books meeting the Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong in the White House residence. News of this meeting broke several weeks later, and Beijing said nothing to allow the story to die quietly. Zen may well be the most dangerous Roman Catholic in China because, as a cardinal, he is in a position to be elected pope. The combination of the Dalai Lama and a Chinese pope would likely be more than Beijing could handle.

Labels: Cardinal, China, Dalai Lama, gold medal, pope, Vatican