Friday, September 2, 2011

Negotiations with Chinese Characteristics


In my book,The Negotiations that never were, I have shown how difficult it is to negotiate with China.
Thirty years after the beginning of the exercise between Dharamsala and Beijing, the Chinese side has not moved an inch forward.
This article published in China Review News candidly explains why: before starting the 'negotiations', the Chinese side asks their interlocutors to fully accept their position.
Yesterday, Dr. Dramdul, a deputy director-general of China Tibetology Research Center, who is heading a delegation of Chinese Tibetologists and so-called Tibetan Living Buddhas to Japan declared in Tokyo: "The newly-elected leader of the illegal Tibetan 'government-in-exile' [Dr Lobsang Sangay] is not qualified for negotiations with the Chinese central government".
Dr. Dramdul said that he has learned that the newly elected Kalon Tripa was willing to negotiate with the Chinese government 'any time, anywhere'. 

His answer was: "China already made it very clear a few years ago that the central government is open to talks with personal representatives of Dalai Lama, not representatives from the government-in-exile. The negotiation will never be about the status of Tibet, but about the future of Dalai Lama and the people around him. This policy has not changed."
Beijing has already decided the outcome of the 'negotiations'. The Chinese leadership even decides who can represent the Tibetan side.
This is called 'negation with Chinese characteristics'.

A Precondition to Discussing the South China Sea Conflict: Sovereignty Belongs to China 
China Review News, 
August 27, 2011    
In responding to divergent views about the South China Sea conflict, Qiushi Theory, the online version of Qiushi Journal, published a commentary stating that the precondition to any discussion is that China has sovereignty over the area. After that is agreed upon, there can be discussions among the countries involved on putting aside conflicts and collectively exploring resources.
Recently, there have been different views in China on how to handle the South China Sea conflict. One side thinks China should exercise self control and continue to find the strategic opportunity, while the other side thinks China should stand firm with the option of resorting to war. The commentary stated, “To those who disagree that sovereignty belongs to China, no matter who they are, China should hold a firm position and maintain its options, including war, to guard China’s rights. … For China to exercise self-control does not help to solve the problem.”
The commentary also stated, “China is firmly against those countries who are not part of the conflict getting involved. China is also against any action that will spread the conflict further in international society.”

http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1018/1/3/1/101813174.html?coluid=169&kindid=0&docid=101813174&mdate=0827002412

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