What's behind Obama-Dalai Lama meeting? \\Unwise for Obama to meet Dalai Lama: U.S.-China expert \\

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Unwise for Obama to meet Dalai Lama: U.S.-China expert

15:58, February 17, 2010      

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It is "unwise" for President Barak Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama because the session would negatively affect American ties with China, says an expert on U.S.-China relations.

Instead, Obama should spend additional time with Chinese leaders and focus on more important issues instead of harming U.S.-China relations by meeting with the Dalai Lama, Fred Teng, a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, told Xinhua on Tuesday.

"We need more constructive relations between the United States and China and it will be in the best interest of both the American and Chinese people," said Teng, who also is president of the Chinese Community Relations Council.

In an op-ed article published in the Huffington Post on Tuesday, Teng said that in recent weeks, the U.S.-China relationship have been rocked by a number of geopolitical crises, some unforeseen and others a result of archaic policies that "should no longer exist in our current political climate."

"During this critical time, President Obama should focus on building a constructive relationship with China, and not divert his attention from the end goal of building mutual understanding and trust," Teng wrote.

On the heels of an arms sales to Taiwan and at a time when the U.S. relies heavily on China on a number of thorny geopolitical issues worldwide, "if President Obama now invites the Dalai Lama to visit the White House, he will be instigating a potentially destructive downward spiral in relations," Teng wrote.

Tibet was part of China long before Hawaii became a U.S. state, Teng noted. He pointed out that the American Congress passed a law known as the Apology Resolution, which apologized for the government's role in supporting the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

"However, Hawaii is still a solid part of the U.S. sovereignty. How would the U.S. government react if the government of China supported a leader of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement?" he wrote.

"For the time being, it is unwise to fete an exile leader and further offend the most important foreign partner of the United Sates," Teng said.

Obama should spend more time engaging with Chinese leaders on "real priorities," Teng said, such as trade, climate change, and the U.S. national debt.

"It is unwise to sidetrack U.S. foreign policy. We need more constructive U.S.-China relations, for the people of the U.S. and for the people of China," he said.

Source: Xinhua 

What's behind Obama-Dalai Lama meeting?

09:00, February 19, 2010      

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Despite China's firm and repeated opposition, U.S. President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama in Washington on Thursday.

Obama pledged to build "a positive, cooperative and comprehensive U.S.-China relationship for the 21st century" during his high-profile China visit last November, but his pledge has failed to hold water merely three months later.

International observers hold that, through the meeting, Obama wants to achieve his multiple political goals at home and abroad, while the Dalai Lama pursues his illusion to split China in the guise of religion.

Then what's the real motive for Thursday's meeting between the two?

TIBET CARD -- WASHINGTON'S UNCHANGED POLICY TOWARD CHINA

In 1991, then U.S. President George H. W. Bush became the first U.S. president that met the Dalai Lama. There had been 11 meetings between U.S. presidents and the Dalai Lama before Obama took office.

Obama promised to bring change to America during his election campaign, yet change is not seen on the issue of meeting the Dalai Lama. Why?

The Japanese monthly magazine Choice was right to the point in describing Obama's move as playing the Tibet Card in an attempt to get out of the administration's political and economic plight at home and abroad.

By playing the Tibet Card at such a juncture, Obama is trying to shift the attention of both supporters and opponents when he is faced with a sagging economy and a much tougher midterm election for the Democrats.

Ted Carpenter, vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, said Obama was trying to hold sway and win over the political constituencies in both the Democrat and Republican camps before November.

He said that Obama was under "considerable pressure from domestic political constituencies," including pressure from his own party on issues related to Tibet.

"The meeting is a way to gain favor with those constituencies" that "support the Dalai Lama and are not fond of China," he added.

In the view of Martin Jacques, a senior scholar at the London School of Economics, Obama's move reflected his worries about the decreasing U.S. influence and the increasing influence of China on the international arena.

The global financial crisis has led to a change in the balance of power. While the strength of the United States is declining, China is on the rise, he said.

Pierre Picquart, an expert on China from the University of Paris, said Obama's meeting with political figures such as the Dalai Lama was intended to set up a barrier to China's development while securing the U.S. dominance in the world.

DALAI LAMA -- TRICK TO PURSUE SEPARATISM UNDER RELIGIOUS DISGUISE

The Dalai Lama has all along tried by every means to meet Western politicians, U.S. presidents in particular. But to further his political end, he has put on a religious disguise to win acceptance and favor in the West.

Ted Carpenter said the Dalai Lama's campaign with the West "seems designed to generate international diplomatic pressure for, at the least, a greater-than-now political autonomy for Tibet or even for outright independence from China."

Pierre Picquart said that the Westerners were sometimes so captivated by the Dalai Lama's preaching of "religion" and "freedom" that they took it for granted without looking into his real intention behind.

Swayed by an urge to please the public, Western leaders, more often than not, would make the unwise decision to meet the Dalai Lama, said the French scholar.

The Dalai Lama some times makes undisguised political advocacy while meeting Western politicians though he claimed to be merely a religious figure.

In 1992, for instance, he sent a letter to Bill Clinton, who just sworn in as the U.S. president, overtly trying to enlist his support for "independence of Tibet."

Since the March 14 Lhasa riot in 2008, the Dalai Lama has visited Western countries far more often,trying to woo more Western politicians.

But Ingo Nentwig, a renowned ethnologist from Germany, noted that the international community is becoming more skeptical of the Dalai Lama's political intention, and that more Westerners are getting to know more truth about Tibet-related issues.

As a result, the Dalai Lama has to resort to more PR campaigns to turn the table, said the German ethnologist, who has traveled to Tibet several times to conduct field studies.

"It's like an ad campaign for a sordid product. The campaign perhaps boosts sales for a while, but eventually consumers will find out that they have bought a sham product and will in time turn away from it," he said.

AN UNWISE MOVE -- PRODUCT OF COLD WAR MENTALITY

Obama is not the first to meet the Dalai Lama as a sitting U.S. president. Three others have done so since 1991.

This is because the Tibet Card is one up the sleeves of U.S. leaders who are still influenced by the Cold War mentality when dealing with China. There are also other cards in the stack.

International observers believe that so long as their Cold War mentality remain unchanged, the U.S.leaders are inclined to play these cards against China time and again.

"These figures would not have been welcomed or known in the West had the Western media not hyped them up as 'martyrs' or 'victims'," said Ingo Nentwig.

He said that some political forces in the West tend to view China through a colonialist perspective, and is reluctant to face the reality that China, as a sovereign state, is not to be budged by the West on any issues.

Obama has cashed in on his campaign promise for changes. Right now there is one more change for him to make that will benefit not only his party and himself, but China and the United States and the world at large as well for that matter. That is to discard the Cold War mentality and adopt a new and constructive way of thinking in handling U.S.-China ties.

Since the two sides have already set forth the guidelines for their partnership and cooperation in the Beijing Joint Declaration, what President Obama needs to do is to flesh out the guidelines with concrete actions.

Source: Xinhua 

Why Obama decides to reactivate nuclear power projects?

09:43, February 19, 2010      

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U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Tuesday roughly 8 billion U.S. dollars worth of federal loan guarantees to build the country's first two new nuclear reactors in nearly 30 years.

Evidently, reacting to international energy competition, creating more jobs and promoting new energy resources are among the objectives for such a decision, analysts said.

Moreover, they said, by reactivating the nuclear power projects, President Obama also aimed to soften and finally overcome the Republican opposition to the Democratic-sponsored climate legislation.

ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

Obama's decision was made at a time when the United States is facing increasing competition in the international nuclear power market.

The country has the largest number of nuclear power plants in the world, but old rivals such as Japan and France, and emerging economies such as South Korea and India, are catching up quickly in this area, the president told Americans on Tuesday.

The United States can't make mistakes in developing new energy resources, or it will have to import related technology from abroad, he warned.

Moreover, the president betted on new nuclear power projects to attract more investments and create more jobs, so as to fend off criticism on his administration's performance on employment.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu predicted that Obama's decision will eventually lead to the construction of 10 new nuclear power stations and boost the country's efforts to reduce green house gas emissions and to develop new energy resources.

It will also create 3,000 construction jobs and 850 permanent jobs, he told reporters.

POLITICAL CALCULATIONS

However, the president's plan of the new nuclear power program is not only driven by economic considerations, but also reflects his political calculations ahead of the fierce bipartisan fight in the upcoming midterm elections.

The House of the Representatives passed a cap-and-trade bill in June 2009, but the Senate hasn't decided when to start debate on the issue, partly because Republicans painted the legislation as "energy tax".

By relaunching nuclear power projects, an idea strongly favored by the Republicans, Obama hopes the opposition party will change its mind to support the cap-and-trade legislation in exchange.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president's decision demonstrated a willingness to reach out to the Republicans.

At present, three Senators each representing Democrats, Republicans and the independents have begun negotiations on the cap-and-trade bill.

Although Obama's nuclear plan won some support from the Republicans, he is confronting doubts within his own party.

Critics have warned about security risks and waste treatment problems involving nuclear power, and said investment profit from nuclear power is far less than that of other clean energy resources.

GLOBAL REACTIONS

The news about Obama's nuclear investment plan has spurred a debate in the global nuclear power industry, which is focused on how to make profits from the growing U.S. nuclear power market.

Some in the French press argued that AREVA and other world-class French nuclear power developers would gain from Obama's decision.

Japanese nuclear power equipment makers saw it as an opportunity for making more inroads into the U.S. market.

They also predicted that once the construction of the new U.S. nuclear power reactors begins, there will be much more fierce competitions in the global nuclear power market.

As the Obama administration decided to relaunch nuclear power projects, Germany is debating on whether to close all nuclear power stations by 2020 as scheduled.

German press thought that although Germany probably won't follow Obama's steps, the country's strategy for new energy alternatives, to be unveiled by October, will be affected by the U.S decision.

Source: Xinhua
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