U.S. senators urge Bush to visit Tibet during Olympics

Saturday 10th May, 11:18 AM JST

WASHINGTON —

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators urged President George W. Bush on Friday to visit Tibet in August when he travels to China to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. In their letter to Bush, the four senators said visiting Tibet ‘‘would...send a strong message of respect for the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people.’’

Those who signed the letter were Democrats Joseph Biden, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Barbara Boxer and John Kerry, as well as Republican Olympia Snowe. While welcoming the resumption of talks this week between the Chinese government and representatives of Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the senators said ‘‘even this modest step would not have occurred without coordinated international pressure.’’

8 Comments

some14some at 07:31 PM JST - 10th May

Yes, i agree and hope Bush will consider it positively. Though it won't make any difference for China who will make all the arrangements and Bush will receive Royal Treatment in Tibet.
presto345 at 08:37 PM JST - 10th May

Even though China is more and more moving away from the Mao Tse-tung legacy, that does not mean that this country, or rather the leaders of this country have the same views concerning political balance in the world as the US of America. And rightly so. We don't want all countries to become vassals of the US of A, do we? If Bush, or the senators through him, want to make a statement, it will be evaluated very differently depending on the perspective of the country evaluating it.
rjd_jr at 11:51 PM JST - 10th May

Interesting facts oldguo, quite different from what the Tibet protestors would have you believe.
OssanULTRA at 12:11 AM JST - 11th May

I don't see any benefit to China by allowing Bush to visit Tibet, only liabilities. Hence, I would be very surprised if China even permitted it evehn if we requested.
smithinjapan at 01:54 AM JST - 11th May

oldguo: Wow! Thanks for enlightening us all! You're 100% right; China should be allowed a murderous rampage whenever they wish because they have made life better! You know some Japanese claim? they say that because of the colonization of the Korean peninsula, the victory in the Russo-Japan war, and colonization and slavery in other Asian countries, etc., that they improved the way of life for many of those places, and gave them the modern systems of education they embrace, etc. So, do you think the millions of Chinese raped and murdered was a good thing? I mean... just look at how much better it is now after Japanese colonization! (I hope you see that I'm being ironic).

Essentially, your argument is that we should give carte blanche to China because, as with pretty much ANY country in this day and age compared to way back when, life has improved on many counts. It's not because of China -- in fact, let's say China allowed the people of Tibet to be free and prosper/trade with whomever they desired without restriction and payment to 'their holiness' the Chinese government, they would be much better off. Look at Myanmar right at this very minute -- they would be much better off without the government they have, and if they were open to aid/help from other countries without the threat of the military government. Oh... but I suppose because they have slightly better medicine than in medieval times the current Junta is actually responsible for increasing the life expectancy and living standards of its people (so long as it's stamped by the generals in charge... hahahaha).

Bush ought to visit the place indeed.... but given it would be a special tour by Chinese party officials, that wouldn't be doing very much for the way things really are; and since bush never actually went abroad before becoming president (even for his 'tour of duty'), it won't mean anything to him except to make him want to take even MORE vacation time on his ranch.
adaydream at 04:57 AM JST - 11th May

I don't think he'll go.

I think that China has enough influence on george bush right now that he'll think about it, but that'll be as far as he gets.

Surprise me george.
Betzee at 10:53 AM JST - 11th May

I'm not sure exactly what the point would be; the Chinese would bombard GWB with evidence of free market activity and it would be hard for him to criticize that. My first trip to China, in 1984, occurred within a week after Ronald Reagan's state visit. One could still the evidence of the China he had been whizzed through: farmer's markets had been set up along the route his motorcade took.

A better thing to do would be to read China's Great Train: Beijing's Drive West and the Campaign to Remake Tibet which is an account of what all this economic development is doing to the Tibetans:

China's heavily subsidized economic push in Tibet is supposed to benefit the locals by bringing them high wages, better living conditions and consumer goods. Lustgarten, an intrepid traveler, learned on several treks through Tibet that reality runs far behind intention. The economic development largely benefits Han Chinese who resettle in Tibet. The Chinese government has its sights on extracting the mineral wealth of the autonomous region, and once-remote Lhasa has become a sprawling boomtown: "To leave a neighborhood for 24 hours meant returning to find it had changed shape, another building gone, new scaffolding erected in its place." Even the iconic Potala Palace, the home of the Dalai Lama (when he's not in exile), is overshadowed by new high-rises. Nomads have been shifted off their lands, given minimal relocation fees and stuck in concrete-bunker homes where they can no longer sustain their traditional way of life. It becomes apparent, even as Lustgarten tries to be evenhanded, that China sees Tibet as a frontier outlet for his burgeoning economy, and that the Tibetans have about as much place in the scheme of things as the Indians did when America embarked on its westward migration. The Chinese even call their version of Manifest Destiny the Go West initiative, and the resettlement of the nomads sounds a lot like the herding of Native Americans onto reservations. To add insult to injury, the new touristic possibilities of Tibet demand some local color, even if Nepalese have to be brought in because they look more authentically "ethnic." The scariest quote of all comes from Lhasa's mayor, Norbu Toinzhub: "Tourists admire the Tibetan culture because it is unique. The Tibetan culture will not disappear when there is a market demand for it."

http://www.metroactive.com/metro/05.07.08/books-great-train-0819.html
Betzee at 06:52 AM JST - 12th May

Ironically those who have been so critical of China in light of the way it handled the unrest in Tibet, certainly worthy of criticism, want to deal with a democratically elected government. Yet older Chinese now wonder what type of leadership democracy would bring given the knee-jerk nationalism exhibited by the post-Tiananmen generation (both at home and abroad). They worry an elected government would be a more unpredictable player in the international arena because it would be accountable at the ballot box to mass demogoguery.