WHAT: Dalai Lama visits US
WHEN: 9-day visit beginning Nov. 4, 1998
WHY: one of several stops to raise international interest in the autonomy of Tibet
The Flavor:
The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, fled Tibet for India in 1959 amid a failed uprising against the then 8-year-old rule by newly Communist China. Tibet, a deeply devout Buddhist region, has been rocked in the past decade by several often violent pro-independence demonstrations, led by monks and nuns. Many clerics have been sentenced to long prison terms.
China's critics accuse Beijing of engaging in a systematic attempt to crush Tibetan Buddhism and culture and swamp the region with ethnic Chinese settlers. Beijing rejects the criticism, arguing that five decades of communist rule freed one million Tibetan serfs, boosted the economy and raised the living standards of Tibetans.
The Dalai Lama won the Nobel peace prize for his non-violent campaign for greater autonomy for his homeland and has repeatedly said he is not seeking independence for Tibet. "I am not seeking independence for Tibet, nor do my actions seek its separation from the People's Republic of China," his statement said. "I am for autonomy, genuine autonomy, for the Tibetan people to preserve their distinct identity and way of life."
But China is unconvinced. The Dalai Lama is "only adjusting his strategy and playing tricks," the newspaper commentary said, adding that and his "insistent stand on independence for Tibet has not changed at all."
The Visit:
The Dalai Lama visited the U.S. for 9 days in early November 1998 to focus attention on China's treatment of Tibet, its Buddhist religion and its culture. The Dalai Lama had scheduled a meeting with the Clintons, speaking arrangements throughout the country, and a meeting with fellow Peace Prize Laureates.
The Dalai Lama met first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Map Room at the White House, and Clinton dropped by to brief him on his talk with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in Beijing last June during which Mr. Clinton appealed to Mr. Jiang to open talks with the Dalai Lama. The White House visit came despite a warning from Beijing just hours earlier that it could damage U.S.-China relations. He also had separate meetings with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Vice President Al Gore.
The Dalai Lama hoped to use his Washington visit to respond to an overture from Jiang, made during the Chinese president's June summit with Clinton, but postponed making a statement, wanting to first consult Beijing through informal channels. Jiang said the door to dialogue with Tibet is open if the Dalai Lama says Tibet is an inseparable part of China, that Taiwan is a province of China and that he doesn't seek independence for Tibet.
In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry said meetings between the Dalai Lama and U.S. leaders would "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people" and betray American support for what it claimed was the Dalai Lama's goal of separating Tibet from China.
Timeline:
11.4.1998: Dalai Lama begins U.S. visit
11.5-6.1998: 2-day conference of Nobel Peace Prize winners in Charlottesville, VA (with the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Betty Williams, and Oscar Arias Sanchez)
11.7.1998: D.L. attends the International Conference on Tibetan Medicine and meets with the International Campaign for Tibet in Washington, D.C.
11.8.1998: D.L. teaches Tibetan Buddhism text at American U.
11.10.1998: D.L. lectures in D.C. on the subject of democracy and visits with the Clintons. China, opposing foreign interference in internal affairs, criticizes D.L. for publicizing the Tibetan cause on the international stage, by-passing official lines of communication.
ssokol@unagi.cis.upenn.edu