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Where EAST meets the Northwest
PRAISE AND PROTEST. The Dalai Lama sits wearing an academic robe after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Washington (UW). In a show of pro-Chinese support, several hundred demonstrators protested outside the UW basketball arena where the Dalai Lama spoke. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
From The Asian Reporter, V18, #17 (April 22, 2008), page 8.
Pro-China demonstrators protest Dalai Lama event in Seattle
By Manuel Valdes
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE — In a show of pro-Chinese support, several hundred demonstrators protested outside the University of Washington’s (UW) basketball arena where the Dalai Lama recently spoke.
Thousands of people flocked to see the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader during a five-day conference on compassion, but Seattle’s large Chinese community had remained largely silent until the protest.
Inside the arena, the Dalai Lama received an honorary degree from UW and spoke to students on using dialogue to solve problems. He thanked the UW for giving him a degree without any studying.
Recent demonstrations against five decades of Chinese rule are the largest and most sustained among Tibetans in almost two decades. The unrest has led to loud protests that have been following the Olympic torch’s passage to Beijing.
The Dalai Lama addressed the Tibetan situation during his visit, telling reporters at a news conference that Tibet cannot make any more concessions to China. He renewed his calls for the Chinese government to withdraw troops from his homeland.
He denied Chinese claims that he has called for Tibet to be split from China and that he is behind recent turmoil, saying instead that he is committed to pursuing Tibet’s right to autonomy.
Outside the arena, pro-Chinese demonstrators held signs criticizing what they called media bias, and protesting the violence from rioting Tibetan monks.
Signs called the Dalai Lama a liar and a "CIA-funded militant." Many waved large Chinese flags. It was, however, a peaceful demonstration.
"I think that people are misinformed. They have media discrimination," said Jiange Li, one of the demonstrators. "Tibet was freed — 50 years ago."
The group chanted "We love Tibet," "Stop lying," and "Dalai, your smiles charm, your actions harm," as thousands of people filed into the arena. A small plane flew overhead mirroring the chants with a banner. Some demonstrators said they had organized the protest using internet forums.
Seattle has a significant Chinese-born population, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. However, it has also historically been a city friendly to the Tibetan cause. The Dalai Lama has visited Seattle a handful of times and has always been warmly welcomed.
The Dalai Lama fled to India after a failed uprising in 1959 in Tibet, but he remains the religious and cultural leader of many Tibetans. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
Seattle was among the first U.S. cities to welcome Tibetan refugees, said Tashi Namgyal Khamsitsang, president of the Tibet Association of Washington. Nearly 300 Tibetans live in Seattle, with the biggest wave coming in the 1990s, he added.
For the Chinese community, the Dalai Lama’s visit has shown a split in opinions on the Tibetan situation, said Assunta Ng, publisher of the Northwest Asian Weekly, a local Asian-American community newspaper.
The goal for the demonstrators was to get people attending the Dalai Lama’s speech to see their side: a Tibet where people have reaped benefits from China’s economic boom, but a Tibet recently bloodied by the violent riots.
Student Alan Orthmann didn’t buy it. "A lot of (them) are from China, they’re coming from 50 years of propaganda," he said.
Inside the arena, the Dalai Lama was greeted by a standing ovation. UW President Mark Emmert called him the "pre-eminent spiritual leader of our time."
"You will make this century of peace," the Dalai Lama told the UW students inside the packed arena. "Today’s world (is) heavily interdependent. Destruction of your neighbor or enemy is destruction of yourself."
In his address, the Dalai Lama repeated that dialogue is the only way to solve conflict, especially as he sees poverty and environmental problems increasing in the future. He hopes people will solve future problems through dialogue and mutual respect.
The Dalai Lama’s left Seattle after a panel discussion of spirituality featuring South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.