Will Communist China's hard line policy toward Taiwan, Tibet, Darfur (The Sudan), etc., effect the Olympics?

BEIJING (AFP) — China turned its back Saturday on appeals for dialogue with the Dalai Lama, vowing to smash anti-China forces in Tibet, where it said the death toll from recent unrest had risen to 19.





A day after Beijing launched a manhunt for monks and others it blamed for violence in Tibet, an editorial in the People's Daily, mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist party, said opposition to Chinese rule in the Himalayan region must be wiped out.





"China must resolutely crush the conspiracy of sabotage and smash 'Tibet independence forces'," the newspaper said in the editorial, rejecting calls from US, European and Asian leaders for talks.





The commentary accused the Dalai Lama of masterminding protests in Tibet in the hope of undermining the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics and gaining Tibet independence from Beijing.





It said that "1.3 billion Chinese people, including the Tibetan people, would allow no person or force to undermine the stability of the region."





The commentary rebuffed growing international calls for dialogue to end the crackdown on protests that began last week to mark the anniversary of a 1959 uprising against Beijing's rule.





But Tibet's government-in-exile on Saturday said talks between China and the Dalai Lama were crucial.





"Talks are more necessary than ever before," Thubten Samphel, spokesman for the administration, told AFP. "China has always pursued this hard line and very forceful military solutions to the problems in Tibet, and these have never worked," he said.

Will Communist China's hard line policy toward Taiwan, Tibet, Darfur (The Sudan), etc., effect the Olympics?
It was wonderful to see Nancy Palosi (sp?) stand up for the Dalai Lama with her high profile. More politicians should voice their private (not political) opinion but what's more important is that people understand what's going on. A few folk think that China has the right to do this because they are ignorant of the situation there. It must be said that it's not only the Tibetans who suffer in China. The Chinese are not exactly living a high life - the conditions are very difficult there. They spend millions on saving face (Olympics) but a lot of people are living in sub-standard conditions. The Chinese are hiding them away in regions that won't be accessible to public view. Wake up world. Do you want to be ruled by the Chinese?
Reply:I believe so. In fact, the head of the EU parliament has said that if China does not negotiate with the Dali Lama the Europeans may boycott the Olympics. This is ruining what China once hoped would be a way of saying to the world we are modernized and democratic.