US yields to Chinese pressure in low-key Dalai Lama meeting

THE US government deferred to Chinese sensitivities by receiving the Dalai Lama yesterday with the utmost discretion.

President Barack Obama met the Tibetan leader for more than an hour in the Map Room, which is part of his private residence. The event was “closed press”, meaning journalists were not allowed to see it. A meeting between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the Dalai Lama was equally low key.

The White House released a single official photograph of the two Nobel peace laureates seated on either side of a small coffee table. Mr Obama gestured while the Dalai Lama appeared to listen intently.

A carefully worded statement issued by Mr Obama’s press secretary said: “The president stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China.” The White House statement said Mr Obama and the Dalai Lama “agreed on the importance of a positive and co-operative relationship between the United States and China”.

Mr Obama praised the resumption of talks between China and Tibetans last month, after a 15-month hiatus.

The head of the Chinese communist party in Tibet has described the Dalai Lama as “a wolf wrapped in a habit, a monster with a human face and an animal’s heart”.

Wearing a sleeveless red robe and open sandals despite the winter cold, the Dalai Lama spoke to reporters on the White House driveway after his meeting with the US president.

The Dalai Lama said he was “very happy” with the meeting. He and Mr Obama had discussed human values, religious harmony, a greater leadership role for women around the world and the concerns of the Tibetan people. Mr Obama was “very supportive” he said. For his part, the Dalai Lama expressed admiration for the US as “a champion of democracy, freedom, human values” and creativity.

It remains to be seen whether Beijing will follow up threats to punish Washington for yesterday’s meeting. Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama’s envoy, said the mere “fact that they spend time together in an intimate setting means everything for the Tibetan cause”.

The Obama administration’s timid reception of the Dalai Lama has been perceived as a sign of a weak commitment to human rights, or even obsequiousness towards China.

"The Chinese believe the United States is in terminal decline, and unfortunately that perception is reinforced when the American leader acts as if he agrees," Gordon Chang, the author of The Coming Collapse of China, wrote on the right-wing Fox News website.