_________________ WTN-L World Tibet Network News _________________
Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee
Editorial Board: Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima Dorjee,
Tseten Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup
WTN Editors: wtn-editors@tibet.ca
______________________________________________________________________
Issue ID: 00/04/18 Compiled by Thubten (Sam) Samdup
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, April 18, 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. China Blocks Discussion of Rights
2. China will "fight to the finish" to block UN human rights motion
3. Dissidents, spiritual groups clamor for UN condemnation on China
4. China thanks countries that helped defeat rights condemnation
5. CHINA SILENCES UN HUMAN RIGHTS BODY
Tibetan Government in Exile Express Concern
6. CHINA SILENCES CRITICISM AT UNITED NATIONS
Canada fails to take Principled Position
7. Low-Key Effort by U.S. to Censure China Fails
U.S. eagerness for permanent normal trade relations undercuts
human rights advocacy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. China Blocks Discussion of Rights
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By GEIR MOULSON
GENEVA, 04/18/00 (AP) _ China today blocked a full-scale review of its
human rights record by the U.N. Human Rights Commission despite U.S.
criticism.
As in previous years, Beijing mobilized support from developing
countries, which dominate the 53-nation commission, to prevent
discussion of an attempt to censure China for the first time. The vote
on China's ``no-action'' motion was 22-18, with 12 countries abstaining
and one absent.
Countries from Yugoslavia to Equatorial Guinea also face scrutiny by the
U.N. panel. But the China measure was the toughest battle, and
Washington took the unusual step of announcing well in advance _ on Jan.
11 _ that it would propose the censure resolution.
``We must acknowledge that the situation of human rights in China
remains very poor,'' said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh.
``Its human rights record has not improved and has in fact deteriorated
markedly over the last 12 months.''
Chinese Ambassador Qiao Zonghuai responded that Washington was engaging
in an ``anti-China political farce'' which was ``a mockery toward the
commission and its members.''
He accused Washington of using the commission ``to make unwarranted
attacks on China'' and repeated Beijing's accusation that the U.S.
motion ``serves the needs of its domestic party politics.''
Chinese officials have been keen to justify the crackdown on the banned
Falun Gong spiritual movement, one of the points covered by the U.S.
resolution.
``The United States is giving unreserved support to the evil cult in
China,'' Qiao said.
The resolution on China cited ``severe restrictions on the rights of
citizens'' over the past year and also protested ``increased
restrictions'' on Tibetans' freedoms and the ``harsh crackdown'' on
opponents of the government.
Censure by the U.N. panel brings no penalties but brings international
attention to countries' records. Both sides have lobbied hard among
commission members.
Chinese authorities appeared to be delaying the verdict of an
anti-corruption campaigner to avoid negative publicity ahead of the U.N.
vote. A court in Xinyang in the central province of Hunan confirmed
today that a verdict in An Jun's trial would be announced Wednesday.
Last year, the Chinese ``no-action'' motion passed 22-17.
The 15-nation European Union refrained from sponsoring the China
resolution but opposed the Chinese ``no-action'' motion.
``Little progress has been made on the ground,'' Portuguese Ambassador
Alvaro de Mendonca e Moura said on behalf of the EU.
``Today's decision represents a sorry failure of political will,'' said
Joanna Weschler, a representative of New York-based Human Rights Watch,
said in a statement. ``The credibility of the U.N. commission has been
seriously damaged by its unwillingness to censure China or even to
discuss its rights performance.''
``This is not surprising,'' said Xiao Qiang, executive director of Human
Rights in China, expressing particular disappointment that the EU failed
to back the resolution more strongly.
But Russian Ambassador Vasily Sidorov described the U.S. motion as a
counterproductive and maintained that ``one cannot ignore the positive
changes'' in China.
Among other motions, the human rights group condemned Iraq for its
``all-pervasive repression and oppression'' of its population. The EU
motion was supported by 32 nations. There were 21 abstentions.
Cuba faces a motion submitted by Poland and the Czech Republic that
expresses concern about continued repression of political opponents and
the detention of dissidents. The communist island last year was rebuked
by a single-vote margin.
A potential showdown on an EU motion expressing concern at allegations
of abuses by both sides in the Chechen conflict was delayed. Commission
chairman Shambu Ram Sinkhada said it will take place April 25 instead of
today.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. China will "fight to the finish" to block UN human rights motion
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING, April 18 (AFP) - China Tuesday promised to "fight to the
finish" in opposing a US motion calling for international censure of
Beijing's human rights record, while calling on the Europeans not to
support the motion.
"The anti-China resolution tabled by the US signifies the US is bent on
confrontation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi.
"Confrontation will lead nowhere. We hope the Europeans will continue to
go down the road of using dialogue."
The spokesman's comments at a regular news briefing came as the United
Nation's top human rights body prepared to decide how to vote on a
US-raised resolution condemning alleged human rights abuses in China.
The US had said the resolution had a good chance of being passed, unlike
in previous years when Beijing was able to block the vote at the United
Nations Human Rights Commission's yearly session by raising its own "no
action motion."
The EU has not yet indicated whether it will support the resolution in
Geneva.
The United States wants the commission to urge Beijing to respect human
rights, improve its judiciary, free political prisoners, ensure
religious freedom, preserve the identity of the Tibetans and cooperate
with the UN body.
Sun also blamed Washington for blocking the resumption of Sino-US
bilateral human rights dialouge, suspended after the bombing of China's
Belgrade embassy in May last year by a US warplane participating in the
Nato air campaign in Yugoslavia.
"We still hope to have dialogue, but as to the suspension of Sino-US
human rights dialogue we don't think the responsibility lies on our
side."
Sun reiterated the government's assertion that communism had greatly
improved Chinese people's lives, stating that "since the founding of new
China (in 1949), the situation of human rights in China is in its best
period."
UN human rights chief Mary Robinson, however, took a different view
during her visit to China in March, when she expressed her
disappointment that the country's human rights situation appeared to
have deteriorated since the end of 1998, when several political
opponents were sentenced to heavy prison terms.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Dissidents, spiritual groups clamor for UN condemnation on China
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By Robert J. Saiget
BEIJING, April 18 (AFP) - Chinese dissident and spiritual groups
continue to face government crackdowns on their activities, human rights
groups said Tuesday.
Their statements came as the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) annual
meeting in Geneva considered whether to debate a US resolution
condemning Beijing's record on basic rights.
The New York-based Human Rights in China group cited evidence of
widespread human rights abuse in China in a report issued last December
by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
HRIC also cited support for the resolution by groups in China victimized
by the Chinese government, including members of the China Democratic
Party (CDP), the banned Falungong and Zhonggong spiritual groups, Bao
Tong, a former senior government official jailed in the 1989 crackdown,
and Ding Zilin, a campaigner for the 1989 victims.
"Human Rights in China calls on the UNCHR to hold China accountable for
the severe deterioration in its human rights record over the past year
by passing a resolution urging the Chinese government to take immediate
action to halt its rights violations," HRIC said in a statement.
However, China's foreign ministry Tuesday reiterated its opposition to
the US-backed resolution and maintained that China's human rights
situation has never been better.
"The anti-China resolution tabled by the US signifies the US is bent on
confrontation," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi.
Meanwhile, the UN working group report urged the Chinese government to
release political prisoners whose jailings were deemed arbitrary and
contrary to standards set by the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
The working group urged the Chinese government to release Tibetan
Ngawang Choephel, jailed for 15 years as a spy in 1995, Li Hai, jailed
for nine years in 1996 for stealing state secrets and Wang Youcai,
jailed for 11 years for subversion in 1998.
"The deprivation of liberty of Ngawang Choephel is arbitrary, as being
in contravention of article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights," the UN report said.
Ngawang was a dance instructor who was in Tibet researching traditional
Tibetan music when he was arrested.
The Chinese government in its consulations with the UN working group on
the case claimed Ngawang was a spy for the exiled Tibetan government led
by the Dalai Lama, but failed to provide sufficient evidence, it said.
The working group's reports on Li and Wang also reached similar
conclusions following consultations with the Chinese government.
Li was arrested and tried for leaking state secrets in 1995 after he
attempted to collect information on those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen
Square pro-democracy protests.
Wang, a leading member of the outlawed China Democracy Party, was
convicted of subversion for openly seeking to register the CDP with the
Chinese government.
"The working group requests the Government to take the necessary
measures to remedy the situation, in order to bring it into conformity
with the norms and principles laid down in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights," the report said.
The report was followed by a visit by UNCHR commissioner Mary Robinson
to China in March when she publicly stated that the human rights
situation in China had deteriorated since her 1998 visit.
Meanwhile, the Zhonggong, which claims a membership of 38 million, said
the authorities in October hit it with a campaign of repression similar
to the one launched three months earlier against the Falungong sect.
"We call on the the annual session of the UN Human Rights Commission to
condemn human rights violations committed by the Chinese government,"
the Zhonggong group said in a copy of the letter obtained by AFP.
Some 100 members of the Falungong group were also detained in Tiananmen
Square after unfurling banners last Thursday in a protest meanth to
coincide with the UN meeting.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy
reported that an independent anti-corruption campaigner, An Jun, would
be sentenced for subversion on Wednesday.
Shanghai dissident Yao Zhenxiang was also sentenced recently without
trial to two years in a labour camp for allegedly visiting prostitutes,
the sixth such Shanghai dissident to be jailed on similar charges in the
past 15 months, the center said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. China thanks countries that helped defeat rights condemnation
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING, April 18 (AFP) - China on Tuesday thanked the countries that
helped it defeat a US draft resolution to condemn its controversial
human rights record, state media reported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi was quoted by Xinhua news
agency as expressing his "admiration and thanks" to the 22 countries
that voted for a procedural motion blocking the US-backed resolution.
He charged the resolution had been driven by domestic US politics and
was a pretext for interfering in the country's internal affairs.
"The move can lead nowhere but self-isolation and self-defeat of the
United States," he said, also accusing the United States of wanting to
tarnish China's international image.
He said China's human rights record was the best in its history and it
was willing to respond to calls for improvements, but through dialogue
and exchanges.
"We are ready to work with other members of the international community
in a joint effort to promote a sound development of the international
human rights cause in accordance with the purpose and principles of the
UN Charter," he said.
To block the resolution, China resorted to a "no-action motion" -- a
move which prevented the issue from being aired at annual UN Human
Rights Commission sessions for the past decade, with the exception of
1995.
Twenty-two members of the 53-member panel voted for the no-action
motion, 18 opposed, 12 abstained, and one delegate was absent.
Among those who voted in favour of the Chinese motion were Russia, Cuba,
India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Morocco and Venezuela.
Those who abstained included Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador.
Xinhua took pains to point out it was the ninth time since 1990 the
commission has rejected similar draft resolutions, and the fact the US
resolution did not have a co-sponsor.
It quoted an unnamed official of the China Society for the Study of
Human Rights as saying Washington had refused to recognise improvements
in Chinese human rights conditions over the past decade.
"This shows that the United States does not really care about human
rights in China but rather intends to reach its ulterior political goals
under the pretext of human rights," he said.
He said the failed motion was part of attempts to promote Western values
and hegemonism following the breakup of the former Soviet Union.
Earlier Tuesday, independent human rights groups cited China's ongoing
detentions of political dissdents and followers of religious groups, as
well as its iron-fisted rule in Tibet, as examples of rights abuses.
UN human rights commissioner Mary Robinson visited China in February and
publicly stated that the situation in China had deteriorated since her
1998 visit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. CHINA SILENCES UN HUMAN RIGHTS BODY
Tibetan Government in Exile Express Concern
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact
Mr. T. C. Tethong (41 78 666 0168)
Ms. Chungdak Koren (41 79 414 3649)
GENEVA, 18 April, 2000 (Tibet Bureau) - The Tibetan Government in Exile
expresses its deep concern that the fifty-sixth session of the UN
Commission on Human Rights today allowed China to block discussion on
its human rights record in Tibet and China. The countries who voted in
favour of China's misuse of a procedural motion of the "no-action" on
the U. S. sponsored resolution on China was a sign of the lack of
concern on the plight of all the victims of human rights violations in
Tibet, Eastern Turkestan and China . "We believe the Commission vote
gave a clear go ahead to Beijing to use the forum to block substantive
discussion on human rights violations being committed by China," said
Mr. T. C. Tethong, Minister for Information and International Relations
of the Tibetan Government in Exile.
The Tibetan Government in Exile is also of the view that the failure of
the European Union and like-minded Western countries to co-sponsor the
resolution on China at this Commission is contradictory to their human
rights policy. We call on all the member-countries of the Commission on
Human Rights to not to allow China to block discussion on its human
rights record in its future sessions. This approach by the UN highest
human rights forum only means that a permanent member of the Security
Council can use it to evade scrutiny on its human rights record. The
Tibetan Government in Exile, nevertheless, is encouraged that many
countries, non-governmental organisation and thematic mechanisms have
expressed to the Commission their concerns on the persistent violations
of human rights in Tibet being committed by Beijing.
The Tibetan Government in Exile supports dialogue to resolve human
rights issues confronting the Chinese authorities. However, this
dialogue should bring about tangible results in the day to day lives of
the people concerned. This has not been achieved to date. Therefore,
Western governments, particularly the European Union, now need to
reassess their China policy if they are sincerely concerned about
bringing substantive improvements in the human rights situation in
Tibet, Eastern Turkestan and China.
In this regard, the stand taken by EU and like-minded Western countries
at this Commission, is regrettable, particularly in the light of any
visible progress both in bilateral and multilateral human rights
dialogue with China. China's continued defiance not to ratify the two
UN human rights Covenants and its unwillingness to co-operate with
thematic mechanism of the UN Commission on Human Rights are some of the
indicators here.
One of the main reasons why Tibetans have resorted to a non-violent
freedom struggle is because of the strong international support to our
path and their concern on Tibet. In this respect, the indifference of
the European Union and like-minded Western countries, on the China
resolution, can send the wrong message to the Tibetan people. If some
unfortunate situation arises in Tibet, China alone cannot be held
responsible.
The Tibetan Government in Exile calls upon the member-countries of the
Commission on Human Rights to seriously reassess their human rights
policy on China. The failure to adopt a resolution on China at this
Commission can be a signal to the Chinese authorities that its disregard
to the obligations on international human rights is acceptable to the
international community. "The failure of the Commission to adopt a
resolution on China only encourages Beijing to implement a more
repressive human rights policy in Tibet. It is unfortunate that a UN
body is sending this message to Beijing," said Mr. T. C. Tethong,
Minister for Information and International Relations of the Tibetan
Government in Exile.
On Tibet, the resolution expresses concern "at increased restrictions on
the exercise of cultural, linguistic, religious and other freedoms of
the Tibetans" and calls upon the Government of China "to preserve and
protect the distinct cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious identity
of Tibetans."
Note: The vote on the "no-action" motion was 22 in favour of China, 18
against, 12 Abstention and Romania Absent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6. CHINA SILENCES CRITICISM AT UNITED NATIONS
Canada fails to take Principled Position
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Press Release
Canada Tibet Committee
Contact: Thubten Samdup, 514-867-6770
MONTREAL, April 18, 2000: Despite increased repression in Tibet and
China, and the efforts of a large coalition of Canadian and
international NGOs, a resolution condemning China's human right abuses
failed following a no-action motion today in Geneva. Canadian NGOs
place part of the blame for the failed resolution on Canada's decision
last week not to co-sponsor the mildly-worded resolution.
"Canada has hammered the final nail into the coffin of its human rights
policy" said Thubten Samdup, President of the Canada Tibet Committee.
"Minister Axworthy stood in front of the UN Commission on Human Rights
and lectured about the universality of rights, but his government
abandoned one fifth of humanity."
Referring to the lack of co-sponsors for the resolution which was
introduced by the United States, Mr. Samdup expressed disappointment at
the dwindling support for a multilateral approach to protecting human
rights in Tibet and China.
"Human rights in Tibet and China may now become strictly a matter of
US-China relations and those relations are more about power and trade
than about human rights" Samdup said. "The UN Charter requires all its
members to promote and protect human rights wherever they occur, but
business interests have clearly taken precedence over that commitment."
Tibetans point to their recent campaign against the China National
Petroleum Corporation's bid to list on the New York stock exchange, as a
more appropriate approach to pressuring China. "If governments have
prioritized business over human rights, then we will just have to do the
same." Samdup said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Low-Key Effort by U.S. to Censure China Fails
U.S. eagerness for permanent normal trade relations undercuts
human rights advocacy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
John Ackerly
Mary Beth Markey
202-785-1515
Washington, D.C., April 18, 2000 -- This morning the U.N. Human Rights
Commission voted 22 to 18 in favor of a procedural motion proposed by
China to block consideration of a U.S.- sponsored resolution calling on
China to improve its human rights practices.
"The vote was not about human rights. It was a vote of no-confidence in
the motives of the U.S. in sponsoring a resolution, but not seriously
lobbying for it," said John Ackerly, President of the International
Campaign for Tibet.
"There was a widespread perception among government delegations and
non-governmental organizations at the Commission in Geneva that the
Clinton Administration was trying to look tough on China to win
Congressional support for Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China.
Although officials from the Department of State worked hard at the
Commission, the President's virtual silence on the U.S. sponsored
resolution in the weeks leading up to vote served to confirm this
widespread perception," Mr. Ackerly continued.
After delinking trade from human rights in 1994, President Clinton
indicated that the Human Rights Commission would be a key arena to press
China on human rights. Yet, when asked for specific assistance at
potential turning points in the course of this year's effort, the
President did not help.
This year in Geneva, there was nearly unanimous agreement among
government delegations and non-governmental organizations that China's
human rights record had deteriorated. But the voting at the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights has become increasingly political, and this
year the U.S. Administration's aggressive effort to end the annual
Congressional review of China's trade status politicized the voting even
further.
China's use of the "no-action" motion prevents discussion on its human
rights record, a procedural tactic that no other country uses and is
widely regarded as an improper use of the procedure. Non-governmental
organizations accredited at the U.N. had waged a campaign against
China's use of the "no-action" motion, warning that the "very purpose
and usefulness of this Commission would be seriously undermined" if
countries are allowed to block discussion of their rights record.
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________ WTN-L World Tibet Network News _________________
Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee
Editorial Board: Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima Dorjee,
Tseten Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup
WTN Editors: wtn-editors@tibet.ca
______________________________________________________________________
Issue ID: 00/04/18 Compiled by Thubten (Sam) Samdup
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, April 18, 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Dalai Lama urges China to send mission to Tibet
2. Dalai Lama Says Plight of Tibetans Desperate
3. Dalai Lama ignores Tibet in Kyoto speech
4. Earthquake in western China
5. Dalai Lama has no plan to visit Taiwan: aide
6. Human rights activists to protest Chinese visit
7. US Treasury Secretary say aid to poor nations had "disappointing"
results
8. French celebrities urge EU action to condemn China at UN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Dalai Lama urges China to send mission to Tibet
----------------------------------------------------------------------
by Miwa Suzuki
TOKYO, April 18 (AFP) - Revered spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Tuesday
called on Beijing to send a mission to Tibet to probe autonomy prospects
because local Chinese officials were too "narrow-minded."
Tibetan autonomy is guaranteed under the Chinese constitution but it
does not exist in practice, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner told
reporters in Tokyo.
"I would like to (make) a sort of suggestion to the central government,"
he said. "Please study reality, and look (at) reality.
"The central government should ... send some impartial people" to learn
the truth in the region, which the Dalai Lama fled in 1959 after China
brutally suppressed an uprising against its rule.
He urged such a mission to visit different parts of Tibet rather than
relying on local Communist Party officials' reports. "Please investigate
what Tibetan Buddhism (is) and Tibetan cultural heritage" to judge
whether they were harmful or beneficial, he said.
The Dalai Lama reiterated he was not seeking independence but genuine
autonomy for Tibet, and said Tibetans were "not anti-Chinese."
"If you look (at) Tibetan issues locally, then you get a feeling (of)
hopelessness. Things are getting worse and worse," he said.
Local Chinese officials are "so narrow-minded and cold," he charged.
"They only know how to use force.
"These narrow-minded people feel the ultimate source of danger of
separation, Tibet from China, is the Tibetan religious thing and Tibetan
uniculture heritage."
Addressing a Shanghai-native reporter working in Japan, the Dalai Lama
quipped he would feel "wonderful" if his comments were broadcast
nationally in China.
"I have a lot of suggestions to make," he said smiling.
The Dalai Lama arrived here last Thursday at the invitation of Kyoto
Seika University in western Japan to mark the establishment of its
department of environmental and social studies.
Last weekend he addressed some 7,000 people over two days in a Tokyo
conference hall on Buddhist thought, according to aides.
He is due to return to his home-in-exile in northern India on Thursday.
While aides had stressed the purpose of his visit was spiritual, the
Dalai Lama's presence in Japan infuriated China.
It blasted Tokyo for granting him a visa, which stipulated that he could
not hold any political meetings while in Japan, and accused the Dalai
Lama of being an activist bent on splitting the country.
The Tibetan leader declined to comment on Tokyo's reported warning that
he would barred from re-entry if he met any governing political leaders.
But he said he had cancelled a meeting with Tokyo city's outspoken
governor Shintaro Ishihara, a trenchant critic of China, as it had
become "eventually too much politicised."
"I always do not want to create any embarrassment" to his hosts and
Japan's government, he said. "We can meet in the future."
The Dalai Lama, dressed in his traditional crimson-and-yellow robes,
added that China had "over-reacted" in its clampdown on the Falungong
mystical sect.
But he criticised cults in general, stressing people must study
"authentic, traditional" religious teachings.
"Cults, these are very dangerous," he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Dalai Lama Says Plight of Tibetans Desperate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By George Nishiyama
TOKYO, Tuesday April 18 (Reuters) - Tibet's exiled god-king, the Dalai
Lama, Tuesday described the plight of his people in the restive
Himalayan region of China as desperate.
Local authorities appeared to want to eliminate the religion and
cultural heritage of the inhabitants of the deeply Buddhist Himalayan
mountain plateau, which has been racked by repeated anti-Chinese
demonstrations in recent years, he said.
``If we look at the situation locally in Tibet, there is hopelessness
and a feeling that things are getting worse,'' he said on the fifth day
of a week-long visit to Japan.
``It's very desperate,'' he said.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual and temporal leader, blamed the
narrow-mindedness of local officials.
``These people (officials) truly feel that the Tibetan religion is
destructive and they are trying to eliminate it,'' he said.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India after an abortive and bloody
uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and several violent demonstrations
have erupted in the region since 1987, almost all of them led by lamas
from Tibet's once powerful monasteries.
But he was careful to avoid criticizing the central government, saying
leaders in Beijing should send impartial fact-finding missions to Tibet
to find out the real situation.
The reports they received currently from local authorities were
distorted, he said.
He cited the visit in 1980 of the late Communist Party leader Hu
Yaobang, who traveled to Lhasa to apologize for ''letting the Tibetan
people down.''
China insists Tibet enjoys religious freedom but has launched a series
of crackdowns in the restive region, sending work teams into
monasteries, limiting the number of lamas and arresting and jailing
hundreds of monks and nuns opposed to Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama, visiting Japan at the invitation of a Buddhist
university, reiterated his long-held position that he seeks only
autonomy for Tibet, and not independence, and stressed that he was not
opposed to China.
``My appeal is for a mutually agreeable solution. I do not consider
myself anti-China. I am helping the two goals the Chinese government is
seeking -- stability and unity,'' he said.
He said it would be wrong for the international community to isolate
China, adding that rather it should call on Beijing to adhere to basic
principles such as human rights and religious freedom within a framework
of dialogue.
He did not refer to a session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
later in the day in Geneva at which the U.S. is hoping the 53-member
forum would endorse its resolution denouncing China for allegedly
stepping up political and religious repression in the past year.
He also tried to play down any controversy over his trip to Japan,
stressing that when he traveled abroad from his home in exile in India
he did not want to be a source of embarrassment.
A planned meeting with Tokyo's maverick governor, Shintaro Ishihara, was
cancelled -- apparently following pressure from the Japanese government
and after protests from China, which lashed out at Japan for even
allowing the visit.
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of advocating independence for Tibet and
regularly protests at international visits by the living Buddha, feeling
these could lend credibility to his cause.
``The Japanese government may have been a little over-cautious,'' the
Dalai Lama said, when asked about the cancellation of the meeting with
Ishihara.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Dalai Lama ignores Tibet in Kyoto speech
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hindu, Tuesday, April 18, 2000
TOKYO, APRIL 17. The Dalai Lama made no reference to Tibet during a
two-hour discourse at Japan's Kyoto University on Sunday, apparently
because of the Chinese pressure on the Japanese Government to keep the
Tibetan leader in line with his visa conditions.
According to Japanese media reports, the Dalai Lama spoke elaborately on
peace efforts in South Africa and the Middle East but was silent on
Tibet.
The Chinese Government had made it clear that he must not indulge in any
politics with regard to any affair in which Beijing is involved.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Earthquake in western China
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING, April 16 (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter
scale has struck a sparsely inhabited area in western China, the state
news agency Xinhua said Sunday, adding several buildings were damaged
but no deaths had been reported.
Xinhua said the quake hit at 5.32 p.m. (0932 GMT) near Zadoi, in the
province of Qinghai, in an area populated largely by ethnic Tibetans.
A city official in Zadoi told AFP that no victims had yet been
discovered. "Cracks appeared in some house walls, but none collapsed,"
he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Dalai Lama has no plan to visit Taiwan: aide
----------------------------------------------------------------------
TOKYO, April 16 (AFP) - The Dalai Lama has no plans to visit Taiwan, an
aide to the Tibetan spiritual leader said as he continued his lecture
tour of Japan.
"He has no plan at all to visit Taiwan. He is prepared to return to
India after his visit to Japan," Lahkpa Tshoko, general secretary of the
Dalai Lama's Tokyo office, said by telephone from Kyoto.
"I wonder why such old rumours keep coming back," he said.
The Kyodo news agency had earlier reported that the Dalai Lama, the 1989
Nobel Peace laureate, might stop over in Taipei to meet outgoing Taiwan
President Lee Teng-hui on his way back to India.
The last time the Dalai Lama visited Taiwan in March 1997, Beijing,
which views Taiwan and Tibet as parts of China, voiced outrage.
The Dalai Lama, 64, gave a lecture to some 1,600 studnts at Kyoto Seika
University in the ancient city of Kyoto, western Japan, on the fourth
day of his ninth visit to Japan, the aide said.
He was invited by the university to mark the establishment of its
department of environmental and social studies.
The Japanese foreign ministry banned the Dalai Lama from holding any
sensitive political talks in return for granting him a visa, the aide
said earlier.
But China has blasted Japan for giving the visa and accused the Dalai
Lama of being a political activist bent on splitting the country.
After Tibetans staged a failed uprising against China in 1959, the Dalai
Lama and thousands of his supporters fled to Dharamsala, India, where a
government-in-exile was established. Chinese troops occupied Tibet in
1950.
The aide, Tshoko, said the Dalai Lama lectured the Kyoto students on the
theme of "human nature and environment".
"The Dalai Lama talked about world peace, environmental problems, young
generations and teachings of Buddha," the aide said.
A Japanese journalist, who attended the meeting, said the Dalai Lama
"preached about peace of mind, compassion and other general spiritual
matters but no political issues at all."
He has given similar lectures and sermons in Tokyo since his arrival for
his latest trip to Japan.
The Dalai Lama has been an outspoken critic of China's human rights
record in Tibet and has sought autonomy for the region. In response,
Beijing has tried to isolate him internationally.
A report in the conservative daily Sankei Shimbun said the Japanese
foreign ministry had threatened to reject any future visa applications
if the Dalai Lama met in particular Tokyo's outspoken governor Shintaro
Ishihara.
Ishihara, known as a vocal critic of China, said in a television talk
show Sunday that the foreign ministry "seems to feel constraint when it
comes to China."
"It looks somehow scared."
"I said I would like to meet him (the Dalai Lama). The Dalai Lama also
said he wanted to meet me. We have known each other for long."
Ishihara refused to clearly say why their meeting did not materialise.
The Dalai Lama was scheduled to leave Kyoto and return to Tokyo on
Tuesday by way of Shizuoka where he will give another lecture, the aide
said. He will fly back to India on Thursday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Human rights activists to protest Chinese visit
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By Colman Cassidy
Irish Times)
Tuesday, April 18, 2000
Human rights activists led by the Graduate Students Union of Trinity
College Dublin are to mount a protest as the Chinese vice-premier, Mr Li
Lanqing, be gins a trade visit to Ireland today. They will be protesting
over the arrest and detainment in Beijing of Mr Zhao Ming, a TCD
postgraduate in computer studies.
Mr Zhao was held with two other Irish-based Chinese students, Mr Yang
Pang and Mr Liu Feng, when they returned to Beijing last Christmas for a
holiday. Mr Yang is studying accountancy at Senior College, Sallynoggin,
and Mr Liu is a marketing student at Dún Laoghaire Community College.
Also arrested was Ms Dai Dongxue, an employee with Microsoft Ireland in
Dublin, who was later released.
The four were arrested for protesting against the abusive treatment of
their Falun Gong colleagues by the Chinese authorities. Falun Gong draws
on traditional Buddhist meditation exercises and beliefs and has a
growing following in the West.
Official Chinese statistics put its membership at 70-100 million. Last
year's crackdown was seen to be significant because its followers came
from all levels of society, including Communist Party members, military
personnel and government officials.
The recent execution on corruption charges of Hu Changqing,
vice-governor of Jianxi province, a key centre of economic growth and
reform, is thought to be related to the anti-Falun Gong campaign. He was
a senior religious affairs official, the most senior party official to
be executed in China since 1949. Mr Li's visit to Ireland is
strategically significant, according to Mr Anthony O'Brien of the Tibet
Support Group Ireland.
"It comes just when China's human rights record is under scrutiny before
the UN Human Rights Commission at Geneva," he said. "This is their
standard ploy with any country they feel may oppose them and Ireland has
been quite good on speaking out, though never ultimately departing from
the EU's failed policy of dialogue."
On April 6th, the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Human Rights Committee
unanimously passed a resolution which recognised that bilateral dialogue
had failed to produce "meaningful improvements in the human rights of
the Chinese and Tibetan peoples". It also urged negotiations between
Beijing and the Dalai Lama.
Beijing's role as a "strategic partner" to the West in general and the
US in particular is seriously exaggerated, according to analyst Mr
Gerald Segal, an analyst at the London Institute of Strategic Studies.
He said that while in terms of economic growth it ranked seventh in the
world, behind Italy and ahead of Brazil, its per capita earnings rating
was among the lowest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7. US Treasury Secretary say aid to poor nations had "disappointing"
results
----------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON, April 17 (AFP) - US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said
Monday that aid to the world's poorest countries has produced
"disappointing" results in the past 50 years, and called for cooperation
to get "a better record of success and result."
Governments of countries receiving aid should play their part in
achieving more effective use of funds, through implementing sound
policies including market reforms, and through "good governance," he
said.
In a statement to IMF and World Bank policymakers gathered for the
spring meetings of the two institutions, Summers said, "At a time when
1.3 billion people still live on less than a dollar a day, the world is
rightly and increasingly demanding that assistance be more effective in
raising human development."
Summers' statement to the development committee of the two institutions
was surprisingly critical of the record of the organizations, which have
been under fire from critics including the US Congress and
anti-globalization activists.
"There is no denying that the overall benefits of aid have been
disappointing, particularly in the poorest countries, relative to the
efforts and financing expending over the last 50 years," Summers said.
He said that although the Bank and other multilateral lenders have
improved their procedures, "it is also too often the case that there
remains a gap between the banks' policies and development aspirations
and actual results on the ground."
He specifically cited the case of the Western China Poverty Reduction
Project -- a controversial World Bank project to resettle nearly 58,000
people from an overpopulated region of Qinghai to an ethnic Tibetan area
-- as one that has hurt the World Bank's image.
Such cases "serve only to erode credibility and engender public
skepticism," Summers said. "And they shortchange development
effectiveness."
"We can and must build a better record of success and results," Summers
said, but maintained that this had to be accomplished through efforts
both in rich and poor countries.
Countries receiving aid must enact "sound policies" including market
reforms and practice "good governance -- transparency, accountability,
the rule of law and inclusion."
He added, "We need to continue shifting the balance in favor of
providing support to countries and sectors where there is confidence
that assistance will be well used."
Summers said Washington supports stepped-up debt relief efforts, but
said "beneficiaries need to establish and implement more targeted and
effective poverty reduction strategies."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. French celebrities urge EU action to condemn China at UN
----------------------------------------------------------------------
PARIS, 13th April 2000 (BUREAU DU TIBET) -- As the date of voting at
the 56th Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva
approaches, several French celebrities, including former minister Alain
Bombard, photographer Henri Cartier Bression, actress Françoise Hardy,
and theater director Ariane Mnouchkine, have signed an Appeal to the
French Government to support the motion presented by the United States
which condemns Chinese human rights abuses in Tibet ad China.
Given the increasingly critical human rights situation in Tibet, which
is well-documented, it should be a priority of the European Union to
give a clear message to the Chinese authorities, the signers of the
letter say. They go on to emphasize France's responsibility in the
decision, as the next country to assume the Presidency of the EU.
"Without fearing pressure from Beijing, nor remaining satisfied by its
promises, France should, without delay, publicly announce its decision
to support the motion," the letter states.
APPEAL
As the UN Commission of Human Rights currently meets in Geneva for its
56th session, the Council of Ministers refuses to announce an EU
position regarding the violations of human rights in China and Tibet.
Based on a number of reports, notably, of Mrs. Mary Robinson, UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, the US Government has decided to forward
a motion condemning China. France which will soon assume the Presidency
of the European Union, cannot remain silent in the face of thousands of
arrests of democrats and religious practioners as well as increased
repression in Tibet and Eastern Turkestan. Without fearing pressure from
Beijing, nor remaining satisfied by its promises, France should, without
delay, publicly announce its decision to support the motion. This motion
whose wording is moderate will be presented at Geneva to highlight the
lack of progress in the area of human rights in China.
As Europeans prepare to present the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights
of the EU, a single document of commonly shared values to the Council of
Europe during the French EU presidency in December 2000, it would be
highly inconsistent if Europe does not now speak publicly in Geneva
about the critical situation of human rights in China and Tibet.
ANDRE Michèle (former Minister for Women affairs)
BOMBARD Alain (former Minister )
CARRIERE Jean Claude (author, script writer)
CARTIER BRESSON Henri (photographer)
CIXOUS Hélène (author)
Tibetan Community in France
DELORME Christian ( Catholic priest )
DUTEIL Yves (singer )
Foundation Alexandra David-Neel
GALL France (singer)
GLUCKSMANN André (philosopher)
HARDY Françoise (singer )
Ligue of Human Rights, France.
LONSDALE Michael (theater player)
MALAVOY Christophe (actor)
MENDES-FRANCE Marie Claire (wife of former French Prime Minister Pierre
Mendès France)
MNOUCHKINE Ariane (producer)
PELT Jean-Marie (President of the European Institute of Environment )
REVEL Jean François (philosopher and author )
RICARD Matthieu (author and Buddhist monk)
SYLLA Fodé (former President of SOS Racism)
END
For more information contact:
Wangpo BASHI (33) 1 46 56 54 53
Kunzang YUTHOK (33) 6 80 70 93 78
___________________________________________________________________________
Send articles to: wtn-editors@tibet.ca
Subscriptions to: listserv@lists.mcgill.ca (SUB WTN-L [your name])
Cancellations to: listserv@lists.mcgill.ca (SIGNOFF WTN-L)
WTN Archived at: http://www.tibet.ca
___________________________________________________________________________
