Official: the Chinese people never allow other countries to interfere with internal affairs (3)

The Chinese never allow other countries to interfere with our internal affairs.

Focus: If the Chinese side is so sure that the Dalai Lama and his supporters were behind last year's March 14 incident, why can't China invite international figures to collect evidence? When the facts are made clear, doubts and suspicions from the international society would be gone.

Zhu: I understand your benign intention to raise this question. But we Chinese have a principle that our internal affairs should not be intervened by foreigners or foreign organizations. The Tibet issue is purely China's internal affair. We will brief foreign friends on the issue, answer relevant questions and invite you to report in Tibet. But we will never allow foreigners and foreign organizations to meddle in the issue or pretend to be a mediator or moral guardian in Chinese affairs. We Chinese have stood up for six decades and it has proved we are completely capable of dealing with all internal issues. What have the foreigners brought to China by meddling in our internal affairs? I think we all know the answer very clearly. I can make it even clearer. China used to be a victim to imperialistic invasions for more than a century since 1840. The bullies and the bullied feel differently. To the Chinese, the image of foreign interferers is not so positive as they imagined.

Focus: I'm not questioning China's capability to handle its internal affairs. I was just wondering if China could utilize some opportunities arising from this issue to demystify the Dalai Lama, or to unveil the mystery surrounding him. In many Western countries, quite a few number of people are sympathizers of the Dalai Lama.

Zhu Weiqun: I know that some foreign individuals and organizations have been extremely enthusiastic and eager to be engaged in the relationship between us and the Dalai Lama, as well as the so-called "Tibet issue". Let me repeat here: there is neither necessity nor possibility in this regard.

As of the so-called "sympathizers", they are actually "created" by government administrations and the press in their countries. How many supporters and sympathizers did the Dalai Lama have in the Western world before the year 1989? How many people did even know about this Lama? In fact the prestige of the Dalai Lama was built up by some people in the West as a tool to punish China. Many moves such as awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama were just part of the Western countries' sanctions against China in 1989.

Once such an example was set, it was hard to be changed, which brought about a very unfavorable factor in the improvement of ties between some countries and China after 1989. Although governments of the countries realized the necessity to promote the relationship with China, the decision-making was often hindered by the "sympathizers" of the Dalai Lama. This problem was created by no one but the countries themselves. I hope they could learn a lesson from it.

We have no intention to shut the door of Tibet to the world, because as part of China, Tibet should be open to the world. We welcome travelers as well as those who come to aid the development of Tibet or to conduct news coverage. However, we will never, at any time, welcome foreigners who come to act as if they are the master of our land. Let me give you an example. During my meeting with a major foreign politician not long ago, he said his country was dissatisfied because the country had asked China to provide complete information of more than ten cases involving individuals arrested after the March 14 riot in Lhasa, but China only provided the information of a few cases. I told this friend: "As a sovereign state, China has no obligation to brief any foreign country on how we handled criminal cases within our sovereignty. The reason why we still provided the information of several cases is merely for the good relations between our two countries, not because we have the obligation and responsibility to do so." I even told him: "Had I made the decision, I would provide nothing to you."

Focus: You may have known that China's reputation was damaged due to the Tibet issues. For a long period Tibet has been closed to foreign reporters who want to go there freely for interview. Don't you want to use this opportunity to tell the world the results of investigation into those cases inquired by that political VIP?

Zhu: I have already said that we offered the politician information about several cases because of the good relations between the two countries. But it is an issue within our sovereignty as for what and when we would offer, to what extent we would offer, or even whether we are going to offer. A fundamental principle in this regard is if it is in the interests of China. You mentioned that Tibet had been closed to foreign journalists for some time. Actually we just strengthened some management measures. We never close the door. Foreign journalists have never stopped going to Tibet for news coverage after getting permit since the March 14 riot. Nowadays we are arranging for more and more foreign journalists to go to Tibet, including you. After all, how wide the door to Tibet will be open is decided by our national interest and by the need for social stability and development in Tibet. I'd like to quote Cao Cao, a famous Chinese politician and military strategist in the Three Kingdoms era (220-280 A.D.), who said one should not pursue false reputation that would only bring troubles. Personally, I hope more foreign friends to have better understanding of Tibet. I also would like to have foreign media say something in favor of us. But pleasant words, regardless of the quantity, are secondary after all. Our top concern is that on no account should the interests of the country be infringed upon.
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