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Norway’s Leaders Snub Dalai Lama in Deference to China Norway’s Leaders Snub Dalai Lama in Deference to China
(about 5 hours later)
The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader in exile, began a visit to Norway on Wednesday to commemorate the Nobel Peace Prize he received there 25 years ago, but the trip was overshadowed by an uproar over the government’s refusal to meet with him in deference to an increasingly assertive China, which considers the Dalai Lama an unrepentant separatist.The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader in exile, began a visit to Norway on Wednesday to commemorate the Nobel Peace Prize he received there 25 years ago, but the trip was overshadowed by an uproar over the government’s refusal to meet with him in deference to an increasingly assertive China, which considers the Dalai Lama an unrepentant separatist.
It was the first time that top officials in Norway, which has historically portrayed itself as a bastion of political tolerance, had snubbed the Dalai Lama, a congenial, 78-year-old Buddhist theologian who spends most of his time traveling and speaking about nonviolence and human rights. He has been to Norway at least three times before. It was the first time that top officials in Norway, which has historically portrayed itself as a bastion of political tolerance, had snubbed the Dalai Lama, a congenial 78-year-old Buddhist theologian who spends most of his time traveling and speaking about nonviolence and human rights.
The Norwegian government announced last week that it had decided against arranging meetings between the Dalai Lama and top politicians, eliciting outrage from critics, who said leaders had capitulated to Chinese pressure. A survey in Norway conducted in April for VG, a leading newspaper, said about half of respondents thought it would be cowardly for Norwegian leaders to avoid the Dalai Lama out of consideration for China. The Norwegian government announced last week that it had decided against arranging meetings between the Dalai Lama and top politicians, eliciting outrage from critics, who said leaders had capitulated to Chinese pressure. A survey in Norway conducted in April for VG, a leading newspaper, said about half of the respondents thought it would be cowardly for Norwegian leaders to avoid the Dalai Lama out of consideration for China.
Prime Minister Erna Solberg told reporters on Monday that the refusal to meet with the Dalai Lama had been motivated by a desire to improve diplomatic relations and dialogue with China, which has been angry with Norway since the Peace Prize, which is administered by a Norwegian committee, was awarded in 2010 to Liu Xiaobo, an imprisoned Chinese dissident. Mr. Liu was represented by a vacant chair at the ceremony in Oslo.Prime Minister Erna Solberg told reporters on Monday that the refusal to meet with the Dalai Lama had been motivated by a desire to improve diplomatic relations and dialogue with China, which has been angry with Norway since the Peace Prize, which is administered by a Norwegian committee, was awarded in 2010 to Liu Xiaobo, an imprisoned Chinese dissident. Mr. Liu was represented by a vacant chair at the ceremony in Oslo.
Even though the Norwegian government played no role in the Nobel decision on Mr. Liu, Chinese officials regarded the award as an acute embarrassment and vented their rage at Norway by increasing trade restrictions on Norwegian goods, limiting cultural exchanges and taking other retaliatory steps.Even though the Norwegian government played no role in the Nobel decision on Mr. Liu, Chinese officials regarded the award as an acute embarrassment and vented their rage at Norway by increasing trade restrictions on Norwegian goods, limiting cultural exchanges and taking other retaliatory steps.
The Dalai Lama’s government in exile sought to put the best face on the Norwegian snub, issuing a statement quoting the spiritual leader as saying he had felt a “warm welcome” upon his arrival in Oslo from thousands of well-wishers awaiting him at the Grand Hotel, where Nobel laureates traditionally stay. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awarded him the prize in 1989 and is his host for the visit, held a luncheon for him, the statement said. “It’s not as if China said that we cannot meet the Dalai Lama,” Ms. Solberg told NTB, the Norwegian broadcaster. “We just know that if we do so, we’re going to remain in the freezer for even longer.”
Official receptions for the Dalai Lama on overseas trips from his exile home in Dharamsala, India, have increasingly vexed the Chinese government, which regards him as a subversive seeking independence for Tibet, the former Himalayan kingdom that China has occupied since the 1950s and claims as sovereign territory. The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959, has said he does not want independence for his homeland, but rather more religious and cultural autonomy. The Dalai Lama’s government in exile sought to put the best face on the Norwegian snub, issuing a statement quoting the spiritual leader as saying he had felt a “warm welcome” upon his arrival in Oslo from thousands of well-wishers awaiting him at the Grand Hotel, where Nobel laureates traditionally stay. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awarded him the prize in 1989, is one of his hosts.
The Norway snub was not the first time the Dalai Lama’s foreign travel plans have been altered or flustered by China’s objections. He canceled a visit to South Africa in October 2011, where he had hoped to attend the 80th birthday celebration of a fellow Nobel laureate, Desmond M. Tutu, after the government did not grant his visa request. China is one of South Africa’s most important economic partners. Official receptions for the Dalai Lama on overseas trips from his exile home in Dharamsala, India, have increasingly vexed the Chinese government, which regards him as a subversive seeking independence for Tibet, the former Himalayan kingdom that China has occupied since the 1950s and claims as sovereign territory. The Norway snub was not the first time the Dalai Lama’s foreign travel plans have been altered or flustered by China’s objections. He canceled a visit to South Africa in October 2011, where he had hoped to attend the 80th birthday celebration of a fellow Nobel laureate, Desmond M. Tutu, after the government did not grant his visa request. China is one of South Africa’s most important economic partners.
China also warned President Obama about meeting the Dalai Lama in February in Washington. Mr. Obama nonetheless held talks with him at the White House. Apparently in deference to China, no photographs of that meeting were released.China also warned President Obama about meeting the Dalai Lama in February in Washington. Mr. Obama nonetheless held talks with him at the White House. Apparently in deference to China, no photographs of that meeting were released.