THERE IS NO CHINA:

George W Bush to meet Dalai Lama in US first (Richard Spencer, 29/09/2007, Daily Telegraph)

President George W Bush is to become the first American president to meet the Dalai Lama in a gesture of recognition for the religious leader of Tibetan Buddhism that risks infuriating the Chinese government.

Mr Bush will meet the Dalai next month at a ceremony in front of the symbol of American democracy, the Capitol building, where the Tibetan leader will be presented with the Congressional Gold Medal.

The Chinese government reacts with fury to any gesture of recognition given to the Dalai who fled the country into exile in 1959 and whom it regularly accuses of trying to "split" Tibet from the rest of China.

Rising up for freedom (The Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 2007)

The battle between freedom and bondage has its moments of clarity, when walls come down, when people rise up, when the world can't look away. This week in Burma has been one of those moments.
[...]

The Burmese regime depends on the support of China and, to a lesser extent, India. China is in an awkward position: it is itself an anti-democratic regime, and it put down a major uprising in the same era as the 8888 Revolution and the Suu Kyi election. The parallels are obvious. Besides, China benefits from a cozy economic relationship with Burma.

But as the host of the Beijing Olympics -- which will open next Aug. 8, the 20th anniversary of the 8888 uprising -- China has to at least appear to be concerned about this crisis in its neighbourhood. And while China publicly insists that Burma is not a threat to international security, the health, refugee and drug crises on Burma's borders should worry all its neighbours.

The Chinese government has begun to acknowledge its international responsibilities, and to be held to account for enabling the likes of North Korea and Sudan. The uprising in Burma will be a test of China's ability to pick the right side in global affairs. It should also be a test for democratic India, which has been engaging in a dangerous rapprochement with Burma.

The violence in Burma must end, but a return to the status quo ante would not be any kind of resolution. The people would still be poor and unfree. Democratization must come to Burma, and all nations must work toward that goal.

In securing the Olympics the Chinese handed us a sword which it would be shameful not to use against these regimes on behalf of their peoples.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 29, 2007 7:31 AM