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In the days since Monday’s announcement from Dharamsala that His Holiness had received a high level delegation from the Obama White House, there has been much speculation about the reasoning and the meaning of the visit. I and my colleagues at ICT have been talking and listening to many people with connections to the Tibet issue – in and out of government, inside and outside Washington. We have found a diversity of reactions, from disappointed and cynical to hopeful and optimistic.
Two observations exemplify the spectrum of reactions. Many highlight the fact that President Obama will be the first President NOT to meet with the Dalai Lama during his visits to Washington since before 1991. Others noted that this delegation was the highest level White House personnel ever to visit Dharamsala, and that it represents an unprecedented level of direct engagement with the senior Tibetan leadership.
One thing everyone asks is why this delegation was sent and why the Obama Administration wants to meet with the Dalai Lama after the President’s trip to Beijing and not before. To be accurate, we are not aware that any meeting between the President and His Holiness had yet been scheduled for October (so this in not a question of postponement), although precedence suggested that a White House meeting would take place.
As for the reasons, they can be inferred from a quote from a senior Dalai Lama aide in the ICT statement: “Taking into considerations the broader issues, it was decided sometime ago that the meeting between His Holiness and President Obama should take place after President Obama’s discussions in Beijing.”
The Obama Administration’s approach brings risks and opportunity. The risk to the Tibet cause is obvious – a downgrading of the issue in the national government where it has received the most support. The risk to the Administration is the perception that it is susceptible to Chinese pressure (whether or not that was a factor in this decision), and the consequence this perception has on other aspects of US-China relations and the overall Obama foreign policy.
The opportunity emerges because the Administration, intentionally or not, has raised expectations about the place of Tibet in the Obama-Hu agenda, as well as what it will say/deliver in the anticipated post-November Obama-Dalai Lama meeting.
If the previous schedule had held, a cynic could argue that the Administration could easily have dropped Tibet from the November summit agenda after having checked the Tibet box during an October meeting between the President and the Dalai Lama. Under this new schedule, the Administration appears to have publicly committed to having Tibet on the summit agenda and to inform His Holiness afterwards on what transpired in Beijing. Of course, it has been noted that the announcement of this plan has come only out of Dharamsala, and that the White House has not spoken publicly of such commitments.
The challenge for Tibet supporters, specifically American citizens, is to see that President Obama carries a strong and substantive message on Tibet to Beijing, and that his discussions with President Hu include the Dalai Lama’s positions and are productive. His Holiness will be meeting with his friends on Capitol Hill on October 6-7. The message that they sent to the White House is more urgent than ever.
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Well, I think President Obama should staight up ask the Chinese who they think they are going to war with, after the huge display of military prowess this past week?
Certainly, it is totally absurd to go to war over the Dalai Lama, who is a senior citizen now. But, you know, crazier things have happened. I think this would be a good question for the President to ask the Chinese face to face. It also offers good and substantive reasons for him to see who ever he pleases as President of the USA.
How can we be so naive? President Obama is a Marxist ideolog who sympathizes with and admires the Marxist revolutionaries past and present. Why would he side with Tibet?
By not meeting with the Dalai Lama, but sending a delegation to Dharamsala, during this unfortunately time visit by the Dalai Lama, President Obama may be doing either of two things:
1. Taking a different and more thoughtful approach by not offending the Chinese by meeting with the HHDL first, then engaging them on Tibet at a higher level than the previous administrations;
2. Signaling to the Chinese & the Tibetans that he is lowering expectations on the issue of Tibet.
Unfortunately, he is probably signaling that Tibet is no longer a pawn on the chessboard between the two superpowers. This is probably because the President put issues of the environment, trade, Chinese investment in Treasuries and the global movement for a different reserve currency other than the US dollar and the free-floating of the Chinese currency — not necessarily in that order, first
Should we be disappointed in Obama if this is indeed the case? Yes, but for Americans w/o sensitivity to the Tibet issue — would they expect their president to do otherwise?
I think it is premature to argue that Obama is a “weak” president. From my perspective, Obama is a very intelligent negotiator and is juggling multiple issues in a political climate that has become openly combative. I think his move is a smart and judicious one, and that cynics simply don’t see the big picture. The fates of the US and China are interwoven at this point in history, and Obama needs to be able to work with China on many issues, not the least of which is global warming. His sending of the delegates to Tibet while not directly meeting with His Holiness indicates, to me, a desire to address Tibet’s human rights situation in a meaningful way, instead of, as a previous commentator noted, using His Holiness as a photo op.
[...] As I wrote before, Obama’s new approach on Tibet does raise expectations that he has a strategy to promote progress on Tibet, and his words at the UN only reinforce that view. Whether his Administration moves beyond the President’s words into meaningful actions remains to be seen when he meets with Hu in Beijing and beyond. [...]
Let’s hope that Obama keeps the promises of his acceptance speech — and extends not just a hand, but a good helping hand to people who need it. And cuts support from those who do not share that altruistic view.
The main reason I voted for him was because he responded to ICT’s questions pre-election.
One must hope and pray that President Obama will be strong for Tibet in his China visit and will subsequently meet with His Holiness. But the appearance now is that he has caved in to Chinese pressure and he looks like an ever weaker President.
Last year when ICT asked for Tibet supporters’ messages to the presidential candidates regarding Tibet, the first thing on my mind was for western politicians to stop USING Tibet and HHDL for their petty photo ops and political games. Either take concrete action, or admit you won’t and stop pretending you’re a “friend of Tibet” to make constituents love you.
While it’s rather controversial and risky, I have to say I’m happy with Obama’s Tibet strategy. Even if it meant he has no interest in helping Tibet, at least it would be honest, unlike every past president who’s spoken sweet words about Tibet and HHDL then handed China lucrative trade opportunities the next day. I don’t think Obama is apathetic about Tibet, but he’s not one to make promises he doesn’t intend to deliver, and right now there’s no easy answer for how America is supposed to help Tibet regain independence.
As for Obama’s sending the delegation to Dharamsala, this act has a lot more credibility in my mind (compared to a personal meeting with HHDL) precisely because it’s not going to buy Obama any political brownie points with the American public, most of whom have no idea the meetings even happened. As we can see it’s also not doing much to appease Tibetans and Tibet supporters, who seem unsatisfied to say the least. The only possible reason here is a genuine interest in the situation. Surely China is aware of this interest, too, and I’m eager to see how it will play out during Obama’s meetings with Chinese leaders – and if Obama does indeed meet with HHDL afterwards.