President Barak Obama did what President Bill Clinton did not. Obama formally welcomed the Tibetan leader to the White House, even if the meeting was on weekend and low key. (In 1997 President Clinton “dropped in” on a meeting officially organized by then VP Al Gore. Republican Presidents and leaders have been more likely to welcome the Dalai Lama officially). Official China before the meeting tried to warn President Obama of negative implications for China-US relations. After the meeting went forward anyway, Beijing expressed dismay and stood by its guns claiming that the meeting had harmed relations. China continues an active opposition to the Dalai Lama, even as the Tibetan leader has set aside his previous role as political as well as spiritual leader of his people. (China accuses the Dalai Lama of separatism or being a “splittist” while the Tibetan movement claims that it is only seeking autonomy to secure cultural, linguistic and religious freedom for Tibetans). Why Now? China’s opposition and rhetoric could have been expected. Only recently similar Chinese opposition was projected when President Nicolas Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama. Why did US President Obama choose this moment and precedent to greet the Dalai Lama in the White House even as China becomes more important politically, militarily as well as economically to the US? Part of it has to be ongoing frustration with lack of institutional progress on human rights considerations. China, fearing a contagion of the Arab Spring to its borders and peoples has experienced a stifling of the opposition, public assembly and free speech defined by many observers as the most severe in the last two plus decades since the “Tiananmen Square” uprising. As Washington has apparently failed to move official China closer to its view of human rights perhaps it felt it was being gradually pinned down to China’s rules of the game. Some in the US felt it was important to reassert the American perspective and freedom of maneuver on such matters. Dalai Lama’s Frustrating Beijing’s Efforts: Tibet is not the only human rights issue brewing in China; however the Dalai Lama is most problematic for Beijing. He frustrates general approach to smother opposition domestically and internationally isolate due to the wide support the Dalai Lama enjoys from prominent artists and other celebrities. Further, the Dalai Lama has shown a willingness to bring together other opposition including that of the ethnic Uighur (Muslims) from Xinjiang province under a shared umbrella of opposing creeping Chinese domination. The Dalai Lama seemed to stress the broader human rights issues rather than only Tibet after the White House meeting - President Obama is leader “of the greatest democratic country, so naturally he is showing concern about basic human values, human rights, religious freedom, So naturally he shows genuine concern about the suffering in Tibet and also some other places," (AFP) Paradox of Pushback to China’s Emergence: Beijing will probably have to learn a lesson from Washington’s experience in the last century. Becoming the biggest draws its own pushback. The consequences of demands and ultimatums maybe exactly opposite of the objective and perhaps results achieved in decades past. There will be a pushback as the US, or Europe or emerging democracies will feel the need not to leave themselves with less and less maneuver as China gets bigger and bigger in political, military and economic terms. More Related Reports at “War Crimes Justice” Channel - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/c/war-crimes-justice TIBET-CHINA RELATED – “China Claims Re-educating of Tibetan Monks” diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/china-claims-reeducating-of-tibetan-monks-by-ambassador-mo/28808 By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey Facebook Become Fan at “Bosnia TV” and “Diplomatically Incorrect” Twitter – Follow us at DiplomaticallyX