China Lacks Moral Authority To Be A Superpower: Dalai Lama
Published: Thursday, 4 December, 2008
Brussels, Belgium, 4 December 2008 (AFP) -
China
lacks the moral authority, including over the question of
Tibet, to be a true superpower, the Dalai Lama
said Thursday during a European tour that has angered
Beijing.
After addressing the EU parliament in
Brussels,
the Tibetan spiritual leader said
China "deserves to be a
superpower" given its huge population and economic and military strength.
"Now one important factor is moral authority and that
is lacking," he told a press conference in
Brussels.
"Because of its very poor record on human rights and
religious freedom and freedom of expression and freedom of the press -- too
much censorship -- the image of China in the field of moral authority is very,
very poor," he said.
"The sensible Chinese realize
China should
now pay more attention in this field in order to get more respect from the rest
of the world," the Nobel peace laureate said.
He cited the problems of
Tibet
and separatist factions in the southwestern Chinese
province of
Xinjiang
as areas where such a moral authority should be displayed. He also named Hong
Kong and reunification with
Taiwan.
He said he continued to have confidence in the Chinese
people while doubting the government wanted serious talks on
Tibet's future.
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Exiled
Tibetan leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama meets Belgium's Senate
President Armand De Decker (L) and Lower house President Herman Van
Rompuy (R) at the Parliament in Brussels December 4, 2008. Dalai Lama
Friday ended his two-day visit to Belgium and arrived in Poland.
(Photo: Reuters) |
Earlier, the Dalai Lama addressed the European Parliament
during his second day in the Belgian capital, where he was greeted by loud
applause.
Some MEPs even displayed a Tibetan flag.
The chamber's president, Hans-Gert Poettering, assured that
the parliament would "continue to defend the rights of the Tibetan people
to their cultural and religious identity."
He called on Chinese leaders to hold meaningful talks with
representatives of the exiled Dalai Lama.
On Saturday, the Dalai Lama will meet in
Poland with French President
Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency.
That meeting has particularly angered
Beijing
and the Chinese government has taken the unprecedented decision to call off an
EU summit which was due to be held in
France this week.
Beijing
objects to foreign leaders meeting with the Dalai Lama, who it maintains is
trying to win independence for his Himalayan homeland that has been under
Chinese rule since 1951.
The Buddhist leader, who insists he only wants meaningful
autonomy for
Tibet under
Chinese rule, and other Nobel Peace Prize laureates were invited to
Gdansk to celebrate the 25 years since
Poland's Lech
Walesa won the award.
The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in
India, has sought "meaningful
autonomy" for
Tibet
since he fled his homeland following a failed uprising in 1959 against Chinese
rule, nine years after Chinese troops invaded the region.
China
claims he actually seeks full independence.
"We are not 'splittists', but the Chinese government
still accuses us of being 'splittists'," he said.
