Mission & Justice

Tsering Shakya; 1/5/08

Two recent articles concerning the unrest in Tibet purport to prove that the March unrest in Tibet was the result of foreign instigation. As a result, they have since been heavily featured in official Chinese news media, including CCTV, as well as on the Internet. This episode tells us much about the government’s efforts to influence domestic and international perception of the conflict in Tibet, as well as Chinese misconceptions about the nature of the linkage between Tibetans at home and in exile.

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Rowan Callick; 26/4/08

China last night moved to reopen talks with the Dalai Lama in an effort to prevent the Olympic Games from being engulfed in controversy over its stance on Tibet. The official Xinhua news agency said Beijing would start negotiations with a personal representative of the exiled Tibetan leader “in the coming days”. It said the first talks in almost a year followed repeated requests “made by the Dalai side for resuming talks”. Tenzin Takla, a spokesman forthe 72-year-old Dalai Lama, last night welcomed the offer as “a step in the right direction”. He said the issue could only beresolved by face-to-face meetings.

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Paul Maley; 25/4/08

Gangs of Chinese students have marred the Australian leg of the Olympic torch relay, assaulting, intimidating and harassing vastly outnumbered pro-Tibetan activists as the torch was carried through Canberra’s streets. Last night, the ACT Government proclaimed the event an “outstanding success” after managing to avoid the violence that has marked the flame’s passage through Europe and the US. “This is the 14th stop of the Beijing Olympic torch relay … and it’s the first successful relay that’s been run,” ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said. While the majority of the crowd was peaceful, there was sporadic violence during yesterday’s 16km run.

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Paul Maley; 24/4/08

Chinese Olympic officials have conceded that controversial flame attendants are trained security personnel and declared that they will defend the torch if it is attacked. As the Olympic torch arrived in Canberra yesterday morning for what authorities said had become the city’s greatest security challenge, greater even than the visit of US President George W.Bush, the role of the flame attendants was still in doubt after a Chinese official again contradicted assurances by Kevin Rudd that the blue tracksuited men would have no security role. Thousands of Chinese students and Tibetan activists have flocked to Canberra to attend the 16km run. Chinese organisers put the number of students and community members expected to attend at between 4000 and 10,000. Organiser Michael Liu said the Chinese community had raised between $10,000 and $20,000 to help subsidise students’ travel to Canberra.

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16/4/08

Chinese guards travelling with the Olympic torch could face arrest if they lay hands on any protesters during the relay in Australia’s capital next week. Ted Quinlan, chairman of the Canberra relay task force, said the so-called torch attendants will have no responsibility for security. “The answer is no they won’t and, in fact, they could be subject to arrest if they laid a hand on somebody,” he told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. The Australian official’s remarks came as Pakistan welcomed the Olympic torch early on Wednesday.

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Samantha Maiden & Paul Maley; 16/4/08

International Olympic Committee vice-president Kevan Gosper was carpeted by the federal Government yesterday for suggesting Chinese security guards could play a role in protecting the Olympic torch, contradicting Kevin Rudd on the issue. The Prime Minister remained adamant last night that the Chinese paramilitaries condemned as “thugs” by the head of London’s 2012 Olympics organisation would be confined to a bus during the relay through Canberra on April 24 and local police would handle security. Mr Gosper had suggested the Chinese Sacred Flame Protection Unit might be called in to help control crowds if Australian police could not cope.

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Editorial; 12/4/08

The whirlwind world tour of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is drawing to a close. What has he brought home with him that he did not have when he left Australia almost three weeks ago? In reality, plenty of light and not much heat. The last leg of his 18-day trip has been spent in China, arguably the most important stage — in terms of Australia’s long-term economic future. And it has been in China that the two tiers of the Rudd way of dealing in the politics of the possible have been most in evidence. Writing earlier this week on the challenges facing Mr Rudd when he visited Beijing, The Age gave the Prime Minister due credit for not resiling from speaking out on the human rights abuses in Tibet. He has consistently done so on this trip and in Beijing did so to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Mr Rudd has said that while Australia may recognise China’s sovereignty over Tibet, it does not condone the suppression of dissent. The Chinese response has been dismissive. Tibet is an internal matter; it is the business of no other nation; now let’s talk business. Mr Rudd’s comments on Tibet have not been given any air whatsoever in the Chinese media. Thus the principle and the pragmatic are kept in different corrals.

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Michelle Grattan; 13/4/08

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has pledged to continue to strongly push Tibetan human rights, as he returns today from his around-the-world trip. Ending his four-day China visit with an appearance at a Regional Leaders’ Forum at Boao, Mr Rudd also met Chinese President Hu Jintao, bringing to about 15 the number of heads of government he has had bilateral sessions with during a trip that has taken him to the US, Europe, Britain and China. While Tibet has been the politically controversial issue, Mr Rudd’s trip has focused on the international economy and liquidity crisis, climate change, trade and general political and strategic issues.

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Iman Kurdi; 12/4/08

There are people we do business with and people we invite to dinner. And there are countries we sign billion-dollar contracts with and others we welcome to the club of “civilized” nations. This seems to be the emerging philosophy of the West toward China. Politicians, celebrities and individuals with a vocal conscience find themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, they want trade and commercial ties with China, because quite frankly they can’t afford not to, but on the other, they feel squeamish and uncomfortable when they are seen to be supporting a government whose human rights record is below par. And of course, this applies not just to China but to a whole gamut of countries who have systems of government that are not quite the full flavor required by Western democratic palates but just happen to have wealth and natural resources which make them a natural and necessary ally. You can call it hypocrisy or you can call it pragmatism. It all depends on where you sit.

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Ashling O’Connor; 12/4/08

Athelete’s displaying Tibetan flags at Olympic venues - including in their own rooms - could be expelled from the Beijing Games under anti-propaganda rules. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said competitors were free to express their political views but faced sanctions if they indulged in propaganda. His comments accompanied his admission that the Games were in “crisis” after pro-Tibet protests engulfed the Olympic torch relay. Mr Rogge’s call for Beijing to abide by its promise to address human rights was given short shrift by Beijing, which bluntly told him to keep politics out of the Games.

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