By Kate Heartfield, The Ottawa Citizen
The United States has decided to award the Congressional Gold Medal, its highest civilian honour, to the Dalai Lama. We beat them to it, but just barely.
The last-minute decision to acknowledge the Dalai Lama’s honorary citizenship was typical of the Harper government’s style. The Conservatives will do the right thing, but in their own time and their own way.
No one could rush the Conservatives into divulging their plans for the Tibetan leader’s visit. Less than two weeks before, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs department e-mailed me: “This is a private visit to Canada and Canadian government officials are not involved in plans or preparations beyond routine security and protocol related matters… The Government of Canada recognizes the Dalai Lama as an important spiritual leader and a Nobel Laureate, rather than a political figure.”
Then on Sept. 9, there was Citizenship Minister Monte Solberg on a stage with two flags: one Canadian, one Tibetan. That alone must have been enough to irritate the Chinese government. It was already miffed at Canada’s Parliament for conferring this country’s third honorary citizenship on the Dalai Lama.
The Conservatives have shown they have guts. Now, they’ve got to learn to move quickly, to use this international momentum to push the Chinese government into meaningful negotiations with the people of Tibet.
Human Rights Watch says China has imprisoned Tibetans for hoisting the flag that appeared on stage in Vancouver. China’s occupation of Tibet is nearly half a century old. It’s consolidating its grasp on the region with a new railroad, and by diverting Tibet’s water to China’s thirstiest regions.
The longer the rest of the world vacillates, the more damage the Chinese government will do. There are many reasons for Canada to make this a foreign-policy priority for the next few years.
China wants the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to be its coming out party. It wants to expand its economy. North America needs China, but China also needs North America. We are not impotent.
Another reason for haste is the fact that the Dalai Lama is 71. “I think with China, the current Dalai Lama is the best and they should resolve this issue while he is still alive,” says Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister.
That’s because the Fourteenth Dalai Lama has taken a moderate position, demanding true autonomy rather than independence. He has consistently argued against violence.
He has also said he can’t imagine his next incarnation will appear in an occupied Tibet. While the Tibetans are looking for his reincarnation, China will probably try to install a puppet Dalai Lama. That will almost certainly be the final straw for young Tibetans who are becoming impatient.
Governments are the only ones with choices to make. Activists are condemning Canadian mining companies for their presence in Tibet and Bombardier for its role in the Tibet railway. “Canadians have to speak out against these companies that are from their home turf, and in some cases subsidized by their government and consequently by themselves,” says Tsering Lama of Students for a Free Tibet.
But there are few signs Canadian companies want to do the right thing in China. If anything, businesses seem willing to pressure politicians to do the wrong thing.
“Policy decisions affecting China cannot be taken in isolation from their impact on trade and investment,” says a new Canadian Chamber of Commerce report urging a “strong Canadian presence across the many regions of China.”
It dismisses concerns about social responsibility, saying Canadian business involvement will improve Chinese practices. It argues against Canadian regulation of businesses operating in China.
The Chamber of Commerce, that champion of free markets, goes on to make this astonishing recommendation: “The Canadian government must recognize the reality of the inseparable nature of the Chinese economy and State.”
Consumers can tell companies to smarten up, and citizens can tell politicians to keep being gutsy. Canada must stand up for the Dalai Lama now that we’ve made him an honorary citizen. Respect for his nonviolent ethics and his compassion must be matched with some compassion of our own.
As Ms. Lama says: “I wish people would make a little effort to learn about Tibet when they learn about peace and compassion. Because I don’t know how you can support the religion and not try to understand the suffering of the people and the political dynamics behind that religion.”
