Obama to meet with Dalai Lama

Despite protests from China, President Obama will meet with the Dalai Lama:

Analysis: Obama to meet Dalai Lama, upset China Diplomacy;
U.S. President has few options to back down
From the National Post

To most in the West, the 75-year-old Dalai Lama is the world's most prominent political refugee, a spiritual leader to six million Tibetan Buddhists and a Nobel Peace Price winner. Canada has made him an honorary citizen, and the United States gave him the Congressional Medal of Honor.

To China's leaders he is "a wolf in monk's robes," a splitist, a former slave master and a dangerous separatist.

Yang Jiechi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, has insisted on several occasions shunning the Dalai Lama should be considered one of the "basic principles of international relations."

So it came as no real surprise yesterday when Chinese officials warned Barack Obama any meeting with the Dalai Lama will "seriously undermine the political foundation of Sino-U. S. relations."

Posted on February 4, 2010 9:00 PM | |
Comments (5)

Last week I wrote the president asking him not to be bullied by China on this one. So often political decisions are made in response to who screams the loudest or what it will cost us. It's nice to see we can do something just because it's right.

So good for you Mr. President!

Posted by Peter Pearson [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 4, 2010 10:21 PM

I remember how embarrassed I was when the second President Bush, rather than extol the virtues of free expression in an open, democratic society, apologized to China's leader when protests (on American soil!) during his visit took place. It's refreshing to see President Obama is showing more resolve and not caving to temper tantrums from overseas.

Gregory Orloff

Posted by Gregory [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 4, 2010 11:05 PM

Obama was criticized for not meeting with the Dalai Lama when he was in DC in October. I'm glad he's doing so now.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/04/AR2009100403262.html

"In an attempt to gain favor with China, the United States pressured Tibetan representatives to postpone a meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Obama until after Obama's summit with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, scheduled for next month, according to diplomats, government officials and other sources familiar with the talks.

For the first time since 1991, the Tibetan spiritual leader will visit Washington this week and not meet with the president. Since 1991, he has been here 10 times. Most times the meetings have been "drop-in" visits at the White House. The last time he was here, in 2007, however, George W. Bush became the first sitting president to meet with him publicly, at a ceremony at the Capitol in which he awarded the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest civilian award."

Interesting to me that Obama attended the National Prayer Breakfast today, partly, I think, because he'd have been the first president in 50 years not to have attended.

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 4, 2010 11:05 PM

This is the event Gregory is referring to (although there may be more):

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/19/world/main1515903.shtml

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 4, 2010 11:41 PM

The National Post's article does confuse the congressional gold medal (the highest civilian award given by Congress) with the congressional medal of honor (which is exclusively a military medal).

Posted by Bill Carroll [TypeKey Profile Page] | February 5, 2010 6:06 AM

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