China Agrees to Talks

According to China’s Xinhua News Agency (who also have an English language page), Chinese government officials are willing to meet representatives of the Dalai Lama in the coming days. Earlier this week, Tibet’s spiritual leader renewed his appeal for talks between Beijing’s authorities and his Tibetan envoys (read the Dalai Lama’s letter on his homepage). China will agree to hold discussions, under the condition that Tibet makes a convincing effort to end violence and protest. The announcement from Beijing called on Dalai Lama supporters to “stop inciting violence…and stop sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games.”

A summit would be the first meeting held by members of both factions since violent demonstrations began in Tibet in March. Western observers have claimed that Beijing officials may use the talks simply to give the impression of being willing to engage in dialogue, in order to pacify critics and buy time. The Dalai Lama’s envoys are likely to use the opportunity to voice their concerns over China’s handling of the protests and put forward a proposal to bring peace to the region. However, China will not acknowledge talks as official negotiations.

World Leaders Boycott Opening

Yesterday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he won’t be attending the opening ceremony of this summer’s Olympic Games. Downing Street insisted that Brown had never planned to come to the opening, and that he will be present at the closing ceremony as the leader of the next nation to host the Olympics. However, until yesterday, no clear statement had been issued. According to Chinese media reports, Brown’s presence had been expected by Chinese authorities. Political analysts such as the BBC’s Nick Robinson and Simon Carr of the Independent have criticised Brown harshly for his foreign affairs blunder on their blogs.

In late March German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the first leader to boycott the opening ceremony in protest of China’s treatment of Tibet. Merkel had previously enraged the Chinese leadership by receiving the Dalai Lama in Berlin for private talks. French President Sarkozy is also considering the possibility of a boycott and has called on Chinese authorities to reopen discussions with the Dalai Lama. In the US, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has applauded Brown’s decision and encouraged President Bush to do the same. Bush has confirmed his participation at some stage of the event.