Beijing, however, seems to persist with its hard, distrustful approach. It continues to rely on muscle to crush freedom. The current talks with the Dalai Lama seem to have petered out. The cynics among young Tibetans considered the dialogue an empty ploy to silence world criticism. They stand vindicated. If this was China’s immediate goal, it appears to have succeeded. Noted expert on Tibet, Claude Arpi, who closely followed the current Sino-Tibetan dialogue, wrote in a recent article that the talks were as good as dead. He was in touch with the Dalai Lama’s interlocutors in Beijing.
If Beijing’s immediate goal is discouraging, its long-term goal is devastating. After the Tibetan protests, acclaimed Canadian author and commentator, Naomi Klein, visited China to see the ground realities. Her account is chilling. She reveals how the latest US technology is used by China to create a centralised Orwellian state in which every citizen is watched and tracked. The laboratory to perfect surveillance techniques is China’s first special economic zone city, Shenzhen. Klein wrote: "Chinese security executives predict they will instal as many as 2 million closed circuit TVs in Shenzhen, which would make it the most watched city in the world. The end goal is to use the latest people-tracking technology to create an airtight consumer cocoon, under the unblinking eye of the state, without the threat of democracy breaking out." Selective TV footage on the Tibetan protests was telecast to manipulate public opinion like Orwell’s Big Brother.
The Indian government kowtowed to Beijing during the Olympic torch relay. Beijing responded with contempt. Neither the president nor the PM is invited to witness the Games. New Delhi should dispel hopes of early normalisation of ties with Beijing. China does not seek a settlement. It wants surrender.
(Puri can be reached at rajinderpuri2000@yahoo.com)
