Jimspeak

A couple months ago I posted a couple articles and quotes on here in which the Dalai Lama was purportedly conceding to Chinese rule. I think the quotes in the articles may have been taken slightly out of context. This morning I've been cruising the internet and ended up on the official website of the Tibetan Government in Exile. The material included on the site is fascinating; there is plenty of historical info about Buddhism, the Chinese take-over, the flight into India and the current happenings in regards to Tibet.

I found an article that expounded a bit on HH Dalai Lama's comments.

Signaling a change of heart, he said: "There is a realistic appreciation of viewpoints of both sides. It's a positive sign."

The 70-year-old leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, also stressed the point that he is "not for secession, but for a solution within the Chinese constitution."

"I am trying to find a meaningful solution to the Tibetan problem. For one thing, I am not for secession," said the 70-year-old leader, who fled to India in 1959 and heads a government-in-exile in Dharamsala.

"I am looking for a meaningful self-role to find a resolution of the problem within the Chinese constitution provided they agree to autonomy for Tibet."

It sounds to me as though he feels that more of an understanding of the cultural differences is being found and that his hope is that they can return to their previous autonomy while remaining part of China and benefiting from China's economic position. The comment is not the defeated sentiment that I had previously thought it to be.

I hope he's right. The other articles I skimmed didn't seem overwhelmingly supportive of the idea that China is coming to respect the Tibetans and their culture. But then again, I am not an intimate of the history/process/current times.