TIBET TALKS: NO PROGRESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 000314

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2030
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: TIBET TALKS: NO PROGRESS

REF: 08 BEIJING 4168

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor
Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
officials blamed the Dalai Lama's personal
representatives for the lack of progress in the
January 30-31 talks, saying the Tibetan side was
unwilling to compromise on its Memorandum on Genuine
Autonomy. CCP United Front Work Department (UFWD)
Executive Vice Minister Zhu Weiqun told the media
February 2 that the talks had improved the Tibetan
side's understanding of CCP policies and noted that
the Dalai Lama's envoys appeared open to continuing
discussions. Tibetan blogger Woeser
criticized the increasing "arrogance" of PRC
negotiators and said the UFWD deliberately insulted
the Tibetan side by taking the envoys on a tour of
Mao Zedong's birthplace in Hunan province. A
Tibetan academic at a UFWD-affiliated think tank
said the ambitious Tibetan memorandum had become a
new obstacle to progress; he expressed hope the
Tibetan side would narrow its agenda to less
controversial cultural, educational and
environmental topics. This contact noted that Lodi
Gyari's "conciliatory" remarks upon returning to
India left him thinking the dialogue would continue.
China's media did not give prominent coverage to the
talks, instead focusing on the Taiwan arms sales
story and news of President Obama's pending meeting
with the Dalai Lama. Mainland-based bloggers,
meanwhile, expressed support for the CCP's hard line
on the Tibet issue. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The Dalai Lama's personal representatives,
Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, arrived in China
January 26 for a round of dialogue with
representatives of the Chinese Communist Party's
United Front Work Department (UFWD),the 9th such
meeting since negotiations resumed in 2002. Before
the formal talks, UFWD officials took the two
Tibetan envoys on a tour of the birthplace of Mao
Zedong in Shaoshan, Hunan province. While in Hunan,
the representatives also toured an ethnic Miao
autonomous prefecture. Over the weekend, Lodi Gyari
and Kelsang Gyaltsen met with UFWD Minister Du
Qinglin and held a day of talks with UFWD Executive
Vice Minister Zhu Weiqun.


3. (SBU) On February 2, two days after the departure
of the Tibetan representatives, Zhu Weiqun held a
press conference in which he blamed the Tibetan side
for any lack of progress. Repeating much of the
language he used during his press conference
following the November 2008 dialogue round, Zhu
rejected the Tibetan side's "Memorandum on Genuine
Autonomy for the Tibetan People," saying the Dalai
Lama's representatives had refused to "revise a
single word" or make concessions. Zhu again framed
the talks as being only about the personal future of
the Dalai Lama and rejected the notion that the Dalai
Lama represented the interests of the Tibetan people.


4. (U) Nevertheless, Zhu said the latest round had
achieved "results" (cheng xiao) by giving the
Tibetan representatives the chance to better
comprehend CCP policies and had "allowed the Dalai
Lama to understand the kind of position he is in."
Zhu also commented how, in November 2008, Lodi Gyari
had been "very unhappy" with the rejection of the
Memorandum and had indicated the Tibetan side might
cut off talks. This time, Zhu said, the Tibetans
had shown a "better attitude" and Gyari had
indicated a willingness to continue the dialogue.


5. (U) In the same press conference, Zhu warned of
serious damage to U.S.-China relations should U.S.
leaders meet with the Dalai Lama. He also leveled
direct criticism of the Dalai Lama himself, saying
the Tibetan spiritual leaders should "clarify"
comments made in recent speeches that he was a "son
of India."

China "More Patronizing This Time"
--------------


6. (C) Tibetan blogger Woeser told PolOff February 4
that CCP authorities had shown greater arrogance
toward the Dalai Lama's representatives during this
latest dialogue round. Taking Lodi Gyari and

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Kelsang Gyaltsen to Mao Zedong's birthplace was
insulting and meant to send a clear "political
signal" of China's uncompromising position.
Woeser's husband, dissident author Wang Lixiong,
noted that during past interactions, China had
allowed Lodi Gyari to visit Tibetan areas, which
showed "at least some sincerity" on the Chinese
side. Woeser said that this latest round did not
seem at all like a negotiation, but rather was
portrayed by the CCP "as an opportunity for the
Tibetan representatives to receive political
education, conduct self-criticism, and recognize
their mistakes." Woeser objected specifically to
Zhu Weiqun's patronizing and dismissive language,
particularly his public references to the Tibetan
delegation as "Gyari and company" (Jia Ri na xie
ren).


7. (C) A final slap at the Dalai Lama, Woeser said,
was the appointment February 3 of Gyaincain Norbu,
the government-recognized 11th Panchen Lama, to be
vice president of the state-run Buddhist Association
of China. The move, made so soon after Lodi Gyari's
departure, was meant to show the CCP's intention to
continue its tight control over Tibetan Buddhism.
Wang speculated that the Dalai Lama was willing to
endure the humiliating treatment of his envoys in
hopes that the situation would improve once Vice
President Xi Jinping took over from Hu Jintao in

2012. Wang said the Dalai Lama still had great
affection for Xi's late father, former State
Councilor Xi Zhongxun, and continued to cherish a
watch the elder Xi gave him in the 1950s.

"Deep Lack of Trust"
--------------


8. (C) Tanzen Lhundup (Danzeng Lunzhu),Vice
Director of the Institute for Sociology and
Economics at the Chinese Center for Tibetan Studies,
a UFWD-affiliated think tank, told PolOff February 5
that the Dalai Lama remained deeply mistrusted by
the CCP and this lack of trust was the main reason
the dialogue had produced few results. Anger
lingered within China's leadership over the botched
recognition of the Panchen Lama in 1995, when, in
China's view, the Dalai Lama preemptively named his
own candidate. More personally, senior leaders
continued to feel a "loss of face" when met by
Tibetan demonstrators during official trips abroad,
and this hardened attitudes against compromise.
Finally, Tanzen Lhundup said the Tibetans'
Memorandum of Genuine Autonomy had become "a new
obstacle" and the document was an example of "poor
negotiating tactics" on the part of the Tibetan
exiles. The Memorandum was simply "too big" and
covered too many contentious political issues.
Tanzen Lhundup said progress might be possible in
future rounds if the Tibetans focused on more narrow
areas such as culture, education and the
environment.


9. (C) Though he put most of the blame for the
dialogue's lack of progress on the Tibetan side,
Tanzen Lhundup also said CCP leaders should change
their traditionally negative attitude toward
religion, which colored their approach to the Dalai
Lama. Such a change in official thinking would help
create a better atmosphere for talks.


10. (C) Tanzen Lhundup praised the statement made by
Lodi Gyari in Dharamsala following the dialogue. In
the statement, Gyari referred to a "seven point"
note that the envoys had presented to the UFWD. The
note, Gyari said, addressed Chinese concerns
regarding sovereignty and offered the Dalai Lama's
"cooperation for a mutually beneficial solution."
This language, Tanzen Lhundup said, indicated
sensitivity to Chinese concerns and left him
believing that dialogue would continue, even if
major progress would remain elusive.

Talks Receive Modest Press Coverage
--------------


11. (SBU) Mainland Chinese press coverage of the
talks was light compared to coverage of the previous
round in November 2008, and news of the dialogue
itself was largely overshadowed by stories related
to Taiwan arms sales and President Obama's expected
meeting with the Dalai Lama. Chinese newspapers

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mainly ran short Xinhua News Agency releases of
Zhu's February 2 press conference. The Beijing News
(Xinjing Bao),for example, devoted only a single
column to the UFWD press conference on page 6 of its
February 3 edition. Even official websites devoted
to Tibet news, such as www.chinatibetnews.com,
appeared to play down the talks, devoting more space
to the Communist Party's 5th Work Conference on
Tibet, even though the conference had concluded
January 20. The Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao),a
commercial newspaper published by the CCP flagship
People's Daily and known for its nationalistic
editorial bent, gave front-page treatment to Zhu's
remarks February 3 but focused mostly on his
warnings about President Obama's upcoming meeting
with the Dalai Lama.

Bloggers Echo Government Line
--------------


12. (C) Like their mainstream media counterparts,
bloggers devoted less attention to the dialogue with
the Dalai Lama's representatives than they did to
the Taiwan arms sales announcement. Blog entries
that did mention the talks largely echoed Zhu
Weiqun's comments. (Note: Tibet is one of the most
closely censored topics on the Internet, and
articles offering balanced views are quickly taken
down by government censors and/or the blog-hosting
services themselves.) One blogger, based in
Liaoning province and using Baidu's blog service,
said he was both "happy and heart sore" to see the
talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives resume
because the memories of the March 14 (2008) riots
were still so raw. The Dalai Lama's "request" to
the central government to restart dialogue shows
that he "wants to return to the motherland before he
dies" and that he "already has no capital to bargain
with." Many bloggers mimicked Zhu Weiqun's
criticism of the Dalai Lama's "son of India" remark.
The statement, said blogger "Orchid Mountain
Nightingale," showed that the Dalai Lama "does not
consider himself Chinese...Just stay in India then!"
Blogger "Shang Daijun" wrote that the Dalai Lama is
"actually the son of the Indian government" since
Indian authorities "provide food, drink and money"
to the Tibetan exile government.
HUNTSMAN