Published by: World Tibet Network News Thursday, September 5, 1996

By Trevor Marshallsea of AAP

BEIJING, Sept 4 AAP - China has shown its wounds are still deep over a row with Germany on the issue of Tibet and the Dalai Lama more than two months months ago.

But western diplomats here are not expecting a similar reaction from Beijing to the visit to Australia next week of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader.

China and Germany were at loggerheads in June after the lower house of the German parliament passed a resolution accusing China of human rights abuses in Tibet, and making mention of Tibet's "government in exile".

This followed a visit to Germany by the Dalai Lama earlier in June, during which he addressed a conference of supporters of Tibetan self-rule.

China read the events as helpful to the cause of Tibetan independence and reacted by cancelling a planned visit by Germany's Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel. Bonn has subsequently called off three more planned visits by government ministers to China.

Asked yesterday whether Sino-German relations were now back on track, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang indicated Beijing was still smarting over the issue.

He said he hoped a meeting between Kinkel and China's Foreign Minister Qian Qichen in New York later this month would help put Sino-German relations "back onto a healthy track".

European diplomats here agreed the German events, which followed a reportedly violent crackdown by Chinese authorities in Tibet, had put Beijing on alert for any similar parliamentary showings of support for the Himalayan region.

Premier Li Peng used the German example to issue a warning to Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer when they met here last month that China was opposed to his scheduled meeting with the Dalai Lama. Prime Minister John Howard has still not decided whether he will meet him.

However, diplomats here said despite the Germany factor, Australia should not (not) feel any lasting recriminations from China because of his visit, from September 14-29.

Relations were still cordial with a number of other European countries the Dalai Lama had visited recently, they said, including Britain, Denmark, Norway and Finland.

"I can imagine China will swallow the visit to Australia," said a diplomat from one of the European countries the Dalai Lama had visited.

"China's reaction to the German case was very severe. They feared Germany's policy to Tibet had changed and are now more sensitive to western support of the Dalai Lama.

"China now doesn't want to show any weakness about the Dalai Lama, but I'd say if his visit to Australia went along the lines of his visits everywhere else, then there won't be a big rift between Australia and China."

Things could change, however, if the visit sparked any resolutions on Tibet to be passed in federal parliament, the diplomat said.

Australia maintains a policy of greeting the Dalai Lama in his capacity as a religious leader, though Beijing believes his activities abroad are designed only to "split China".

Another European diplomat said the Dalai Lama's Australian visit had gained a high level of publicity and that this might make China study it more closely than it normally would.

"But the German case was rather exceptional, and I'd say that while China never likes it when the Dalai Lama goes abroad, relations with Australia shouldn't be greatly affected," he said.