Thursday, September 24, 2009

Taiwan visit

The initial break of the news: Over a phone conversation with a long time friend who lives in Canada, I was asked what is my view/ take on the Dalai Lama's recent visit to Taiwan. This casual question caught me off the guard. My initial response shoot off in a  jumbled and ambiguous ways, parroting the media version of the visit with little critical thinking on the issue from my own. Realizing that my responses did not satisfy my buddy, I started to think more critically , and start to read every commentaries and articles on the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan more carefully and mindfully. I feared that my friend might not concur / or share my prospectives on the visit, and so I did not have the courage to ask his opinions.


 As a matter of fact, I was the one who couldnt believe when I first heard of Dalai Lama's pending visit to Taiwan to console the victems of Typhon Marokon. My assumption then was  based on what the current Taiwan President commented about the Dalai lama's interest for visit to Taiwan as a "imappropriate time"  in one of the early press rebuff. Giving the Taiwan and China's blooming relationship, I thought it is unlikely that the government of Taiwan would invite a man the Chinese leadership dread and calls a "splittist" lest straining the "hardearned relationship'across the strait. Ma's government simply could not ruin the well established cross strait relationship with China. My suspecion was further reaffirmed by the response of the  Dalai Lama's representative to Taiwan during early interview. Representative Dawa Tsering, was startled at my question of the Dalai lama's possible visit to Taiwan, as reported in media. He answered my question of the possible visit with lots of skiptcism and uncertainty. "it is not 100% sure yet, even though the local leaders of the flood effected areas invited the Dalai lama, the Taiwan government has not issued the green light yet". I personally assumed this possible visit is another speculation and media hyperbole. With this thoughts in mind,I have even bet with one of my colleagues by favouring the visit will not materialize.

  Then the next day, not only I have lost my bet to buy a lunch for my colleague, and  defying all the logics,  President Ma of Taiwan oked Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan to pray for the souls and victems of the natural disaster, calling it a  humanitarion and riligious propose. 

Taiwan Nationalist Party's (KMT) headache: Days after, the news of Dalai Lama's confirmed visit to Taiwan picked up in international press. Some of the details of initial invitation extended  to Dalai Lama by the mayors of 6 metropolitan towns and the immediate post meeting of  President Ma and his stooges were surfaced. It is reported as an emergency meeting among the top officials to pour over the issues sorrounding the Dalai Lama's proposed visit, and the next day Ma government approved it. Ma's government was criticized for botching the relief efforts for the affected areas of the disaster. And now the Dalai Lama's visit to console and prays for the victems could not be given a cold shoulder. The ruling nationalist party had to walk a rightrope. It was a Ma's moment to signal that he does care for Taiwanese people, at the same time, be cautious of Chinese government reaction against the approval. Eventually, Ma Yu Jin's government made a calculated decision to allow the Dalai Lama to come and pray for victems of natural diasater, while the ruling officials shun any meeting with him. With public approval rating of the government at its all time low, Ma's government could not deny the visit, if they do, this would provide more ammunitions to the opposition parties,  as said by analysts.  Was it a smart move by the Ma government  to allow the Dalai Lama,s visit. Was it an appropriate timing for Dalai Lama to visit the island nation. Did His Holiness put himself in line of the fire in Taiwan's internal political bickering?. Could the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwang be strictly non political? These are the questions that one to have ponder on, to critically evaluate the visit's political or non political implication. Personally,  I do not have a conclusive responses to these questions, nor do I think anyone can judge the  visit's immediate fallout.

Analysis: The Dalai lama,s trip to Taiwan has drawn a huge media attention, both domestically  and internationally. I like to point out one particular  illuminating article titled "Dalai Lama Rose Above the Hack" by  Cao Changqing in Taipe Times. In this critical piece the author strongly advocated the the Dalai Lama's visit to Taiwan, he wrote " ...The Ma administration leans entirely toward China and fears the CCP. The Dalai Lama knew very well that he would face unfriendliness and even enmity from the pan-blue camp by coming to Taiwan, with Ma’s aides even saying they would dictate exactly where the Dalai Lama could go and what he could do during his short visit.Despite this, the Dalai Lama came, and he comforted disaster victims. This clearly shows he is more concerned with human life than politics".

Through a secondhand sources, a well educated Tibetan living in Taiwan had this to share about the visit, he said the Dalai Lama's two previous visit to Taiwan was electrifying with so much enthusiasm among people from both parties. The most recent and Dalai Lama's third visit to Taiwan did not get the same passion and enthusisam as in the previous two visit. So a question arises, if the timing of the  Dalai Lama's  visit was appropriate? Did the Tibetan officials in the office of Tibet, Taiwan had a good grasp of the ground situation and Taiwan's political environment so to wisely advise the Dalai Lama's visit?. In the weekly Tibetan Bachen newspaper, in its editorial, H.H the Dalai Lama's visit  to Taiwan at this time of disaster was welcomed and deemed as  most humane from a moral point of view.

His Holiness himself called the visit a success and that he fulfilled his moral responsibilities.

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