Haper’s a real Canadian

Fight for what’s right, fight for your life!

Michael Silicz, staff

Oct. 29, 2007 will go down in Canadian history as a defining moment of our 21st century. The Minister of Truth is elated with the recent actions of the Harper government that will, invariably, define what our country stands for in the decades to come. In the boldest foreign policy move taken by the Canadian government since the invasion of Afghanistan, the Harper government has formally met the Dalai Lama on Parliament Hill.

This move is unprecedented in modern Canadian history. Not since Pierre Elliot Trudeau travelled to China over 30 years ago has there been such a watershed move in terms of Canadian foreign affairs. It is ironic, then, that the current diplomatic meeting that has turned so many heads involves China again, but this time in a very different light.

The People’s Republic of China is vehemently opposed to the Dalai Lama meeting with any foreign governments. But how can a 72-year-old Nobel laureate warrant such a reaction? The reason why this one little Tibetan monk causes so much discord is due to the historical legacy that he carries.

Following the victory of Mao Zedong and his Communist Party over the Western-backed Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek in 1949, China invaded Tibet. The following year, Tenzin Gyatso, a farmer’s son who spent most of his life recognized as the 14th incarnation of Buddha, was pronounced the political leader of Tibet. Thus, in 1950, Tibet had its Dalai Lama. Culminating in a 1959 uprising, the Tibet resistance was violently suppressed, forcing the Dalai Lama into exile. For nearly 50 years now, the Dalai Lama has been the exiled spiritual and political leader of Tibet, touring the world raising awareness for his cause — political and religious autonomy for Tibet.

This situation creates a foreign affairs headache for Chinese officials. To Westerners, the Dalai Lama is a pacifist; yet to Chinese authorities, he is viewed as a nationalist-separatist rebel. When the Dalai Lama thus meets with foreign dignitaries, China considers such actions a violation of their sovereignty. Thus, the symbolism of Harper meeting the Dalai Lama in our political capital is not been lost on China. To put this meeting into perspective, imagine President Hu Jintao of China inviting Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc Québécois to an official visit to Beijing.

Harper’s meeting with the Dalai Lama comes following an equally monumental appearance in the United States. A week ago, George W. Bush presented the Dalai Lama with a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honour the U.S. government can bestow.

The controversy in meeting with the Dalai Lama publically will strain Chinese-Canadian relations, both politically and economically. However, what matters is that, despite the risks, Canada is standing up for what it believes in — freedom and rights. With a soaring Canadian dollar, and the ever-increasing Chinese demand for Canadian resources, we are in a position to force China’s hand in this matter.

“My main interest or main commitment is promotion of human values, [and the] promotion of religious harmony,” the Dalai Lama said before meeting with Harper on Monday. And it’s time we made clear our support of such freedoms in other countries with which we trade and do business. Western democracies, led by countries like Canada, must continue demanding from our non-democratic trading partners that they embrace the values of liberalism. Therefore, the Minister of Truth recommends that the Harper government stay the course and force capitalist-but-non-liberal countries to adopt the freedoms that we all take for granted.

Michael Silicz is the comment editor of the Manitoban.