China Confirms EU Summit Off Over Dalai Lama Row
From AFP:
China confirmed it had postponed a summit with the European Union in protest at French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s planned meeting with the Dalai Lama, state media reported Thursday.
China’s official Xinhua news agency, quoting Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, said the decision was taken because the summit could not achieve its expected goals.
The spokesman said the Chinese government and people were extremely unhappy at Sarkozy’s plan to meet the exiled Tibetan spiritual after the China-EU summit.
“The Tibet issue is related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and it touches China’s interests at the core. We firmly oppose the Dalai Lama ’s separatist activities in foreign countries with any capacity, and firmly oppose the contact between foreign leaders with him in any form,” Qin said.
Read also China calls off EU summit over Dalai Lama visit by Darren Ennis and David Brunnstrom.
Origin: , AFP
POSTED COMMENTS: 14 Responses
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This story proves that either HH the XIV DL is the most singularly powerful man in the world. Or China is the embodiment of the most spoiled adolescent in the world. But as most things are, it’s probably a little bit of both. :)
I’d say it’s probably closer to the latter. Bush and the Chinese leadership have been well-matched on the world stage: both are thin-skinned about criticisms, unwilling to enter meaningful dialogues with opponents, and wedded to clumsy views of the world.
We’ll have to see what Xi Jinping brings. I’ve got some hope.
Please excuse my ignorance, whose Xi Jinping?
Xi Jinping is widely expected to take Hu Jintao’s place when Hu’s term runs up. He’s a “princeling” (unlike Hu’s preferred successor, Li Keqiang) but he’s got a down-to-earth, populist streak to him. And he’s rumored to be comfortable with political liberals.
Anyway, we’ll see…
Of all times for China not to talk to the EU, this must surely be one of the worst.
When will China’s government grow up and realize that the rest of the world is not the guardian of its “feelings”?
Russia may be run by arseholes, but at least it isn’t run by babies.
Dalailama.com
Haha. Similarly, the U.S. has most certainly been run by arseholes these last years, but whatever their other shortcomings–and those shortcomings are monumental—at least they don’t whine when the world hurts their “feelings.”
Actually, come to think of it, if Bush was as sensitive as any given spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, then it wouldn’t be so bad. He’d sit and sniff in the White House rose garden and cry onto the shoulder of anyone who passed about how mean and bullying Iran has been, or how what Kerry said was really not nice and how he better take it back or the president will never visit Massachusetts…
Oops. Just realized those comments of mine directly contradict my early comments.
My reconciliation: Bush is thin-skinned and easily insulted, but at least he doesn’t go on and on about America’s feelings.
The CCP old guard do not talk about “hurting the feelings of the Chinese” because their feelings are hurt. When you look at those old waxworks, you doubt that they have much feeling or compassion.
They do it to rally the Chinese behind their bandwaggon of suppression of internal and external dissent. And sadly, they are succeeding with it, too.
Most Chinese have heard the lullaby of “Tibet has always been part of China” for so long, they take it to be real…
Oh yeah, the old “hurt feelings” bit. What a joke. If the Chinese people really do care so much about their “face” then its a wonder why every time a Chinese official says this crap that one billion Chinese people don’t tell him to shut his pie hole in unison.
jh, “Tibet has always been part of China” lullaby. Oh wow…I bet you this is true. That is hillarious :)
OTR, thanks for the small ray of hope. Though I’m not holding my breath ;)
Good On You,China! I am so proud that China can say No to Foreign inteference. Tibet was and will always be part of China. The Dalai Lama had never had a total claim to Tibet. I live in the west for 17 years, and let me tell you what a sorryful state of human rights in the West. If you live in the west, mind your own business. The Chinese know what they are doing, and they are doing a bloody good job!
“…they are doing a bloody good job!”
All I can say is…good choice of words.
Congratulations, you’ve evolved your positive human charactersitics into a bulldozer. Is it true what they say about ignorance being bliss?
Xi Jinping is widely expected to take Hu Jintao’s place when Hu’s term runs up. He’s a “princeling” (unlike Hu’s preferred successor, Li Keqiang)
Well the CCP will not repeat the same mistake that the Russian does That is sure. Because the Chinese are smarter than Russian and they can see for themselves what happened if you force democracy on the county that doesn’t have democratic tadition Thailand, India,Russia Enough of this misplaced sense of superiority China will cut their on path to good governance according to its tradition and history