IN A MOVE sure to anger the Beijing government, self-ruled Taiwan, which turned away the Dalai Lama last year because it feared upsetting China, has given the go-ahead to a visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader next week to comfort victims of the deadly typhoon.
Ties between Taiwan and mainland China have become warmer under the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou, but news that the Tibetan leader, reviled by Beijing as a dangerous separatist, is to go to southern Taiwan may put this new warmth under strain.
However, Mr Ma had a delicate balancing act to pull off. Since taking office last year, he has avoided doing anything to anger Beijing as he seeks to boost trade ties. However, refusing for a second time to allow the Dalai Lama to visit could also play into the hands of Mr Ma’s political opponents in Taiwan.
The message the ruling KMT was pushing was that the visit was entirely about the religious and pastoral aspect. The visit will take place between August 31st and September 3rd, the government information office said.
“We’ve . . . decided to let the Dalai Lama visit as he is coming here to pray for the dead victims, as well as the survivors,” Mr Ma said while visiting typhoon survivors. Some of these survivors have sharply criticised the government’s tardy response to Typhoon Morakot, which is feared to have killed almost 700 people in mudslides.
Taiwan, which mainland China claims is a renegade province to be taken back by force if necessary, is home to a large exiled Tibetan community and millions of Buddhists. The Dalai Lama visited in 1997 and 2001.
In Beijing, lawmakers have passed legislation bolstering central control of paramilitary police and spelling out their role in quelling riots and protests, less than two months after deadly unrest in Xinjiang. The law, passed by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, governs the people’s armed police, the security force used to quell domestic unrest, as well as guarding officials and key installations.
Meanwhile, an outspoken Uighur economist, who disappeared for more than a month after being accused of fomenting violence during China’s worst ethnic clashes in decades, says authorities have freed him without charge.
Ilham Tohti was put under house arrest two days after deadly riots between Muslim Uighurs and the dominant Han Chinese in Urumqi on July 5th. The violence killed almost 200.