The Life Of The Buddha - Full BBC Documentary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFbjDcz_CbU

Nature of the Mind: His Holiness the Dalai Lama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO7RQi55asY

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama: Peace Through Compassion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHJG41Q2VjY

China slams Britain after Cameron meets Dalai Lama

CBSNEWS, May 15, 2012

BEIJING — China is criticizing British Prime Minister David Cameron for meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying it amounts to support for Tibet's independence from Chinese rule. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Tuesday that the British government ignored Beijing's objections by going ahead with Monday's meeting in London. Hong said the meeting undermined China-Britain relations and that London should now take actions to improve ties. Beijing has campaigned for years to counteract the Dalai Lama's international influence by pressuring foreign leaders not to meet with him.

Dalai Lama alleges poison plot; China cries foul

BEIJING May 14, 2012 (AP)

The Dalai Lama at his temple complex in Dharamsala. 'If, at the time I pass away, or even before, the majority of the people feel the Dalai Lama institution is no longer relevant, the institution will automatically cease,' he says. 'I am not worried about that.' (Sameer Ashraf/Barcroft India)

China accused the Dalai Lama of being deceitful Monday after he reportedly alleged that Chinese agents trained Tibetan women to assassinate him by planting poison in their hair for him to touch during blessings.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Tibetan spiritual leader's allegations, reported in the London-based Sunday Telegraph newspaper, were not worth refuting, but added that he generally spreads false information.

"The Dalai always wears religious clothes while carrying out anti-China separatist activities in the global community, spreading false information and deceiving the public," spokesman Hong Lei said at a routine daily news briefing.

The nationalistic tabloid the Global Times further scorned the allegations in a commentary, saying that if China had wanted to kill the Dalai Lama it could have done so any time without waiting until he was 76 years old.

The Tibetan Buddhist leader told the Telegraph he had been warned that the Chinese government was training female Tibetan agents to put poison in their hair or scarves and to seek his blessings or touch his hand.

Hundreds of thousands of people take pilgrimages each year to northern Indian town of Dharmsala, where the Dalai Lama lives under tight security. Huge crowds also surround him during his travels abroad. The Tibetan leader usually places his hand over the heads of devotees seeking his blessing.

He told the newspaper he may ending up being the last Dalai Lama because of Chinese interference in finding his reincarnation after his death.

Associated Press writer Nirmala George in New Delhi contributed to this report.

A request from a Cambodian MP to Chinese President Hu Jintao

Chinese President Hu Jintao will visit Cambodia on a four day visit from March 30 to April 2. President Hu Jintao will visit Cambodia to strengthen bilateral cooperation between our two countries and talk on regional issues prior to Cambodia's hosting of the 2012 ASEAN summit.

The following is an open letter to President Hu Jintao.

Dear President Hu Jintao,

We welcome the news for your visit to Cambodia and see it as a time for optimism, hope and more importantly, change.

It is envisaged that 2012 will be the year when you will end your second five-year term as party head. Therefore may I take the liberty to suggest to you that this could be a great opportunity to propel China forward as a legitimate leader in the global context.

Because in spite of its rapid socio-economic advancement and modernisation, China continues to operate as an authoritarian one-party State that imposes severe restrictions on human rights both in China and abroad.

In particular, recent events in Tibet have involved the self-immolation of a number of Tibetans - the last count was 30 confirmed self-immolations since February 2009. President, this is their desperate attempt to gain the world's attention over the plight of Tibet and the lack of religious freedom, some as young as 18 years old!

The continuation of China's systematic repression of Tibetan people can not be ignored. Tibetans are gentle and peace loving people and they are seeking a level of autonomy to preserve their culture and their way of life. Surely it is not too much to ask. President Hu Jintao please use your authority to put an end to any further egregious human rights violations and begin to reconcile with the Tibetan Government-in-exile to settle the problem by beginning negotiations, without further delay, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

At the same time Chinese citizens, just like Cambodian citizens, face the same issues and challenges over livelihood issues, land seizures, forced evictions,abuses of power by corruption and economic inequalities. All these issues need to be resolved and we look to China to set a positive example in the region.

Controversial environmental projects funded by the Chinese government worldwide, including those in Cambodia, must also stop. The Kamchay dam in Kampot province and the Tatai dam in Koh Kong, are multi million dollar Chinese funded projects, which have destroyed hundreds of hectares of forest and farmland and negatively impacted on fisheries and on local people's livelihoods. Consideration of the environmental impacts in either project had no place in any decision-making process. Of course, there is some clear accountability here with the Cambodian government as well, but China is definitely the stronger influence. We ask that the President ensure the next environmentally disastrous hydro dam project, which involves another Chinese company, scheduled for Stung Araeng in Koh Kong, does not proceed.

Finally President Hu Jintao please consider seriously how you would like your legacy to the world to be remembered. Change is inevitable. The rate at which the world is changing is beyond all our control: climate change, political change, illustrated by the recent Arab Spring demonstrations through out Middle East.

Surely President you would prefer to be remembered as the wind of change and not the reason behind the violent clouds of protest!

Phnom Penh March 26, 2012

MP Son Chhay

Dalai Lama calls for more freedoms for Chinese

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (AFP/File, Alex Domanski)

Thursday, September 08, 2011
AFP

"If you are a believer, you must not indulge in corruption" - Dalai Lama

MONTREAL — Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Wednesday called on China to allow information to flow more freely and to create an independent judiciary.

A quick transition in China from communism to democracy "would create many problems," he said during a visit to Montreal. For now, "what China needs," he said, "is free information and an independent judiciary."

The leader, whom Buddhists believe to be the reincarnation of a past lama, fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. He later founded the government in exile in Dharamshala, northern India.

Speak Truth To Power ("Courage Without Borders") Series in KI-Media - The Dalai Lama (Tibet) “Religious Freedom”

"May I become at all times both now and forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of rugs for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need."

http://www.box.net/shared/nvb1gaszzpdqg1ilptut

China accuses US of damaging diplomatic relations after President Barack Obama meets Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama, centre, prays before performing a blessing ceremony at the Anacostia River in Washington Photo: AP

China has accused the United States of "grossly" interfering in its internal affairs and damaging relations after President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House.

Sunday 17 July 2011

The Telegraph (UK)

Barack Obama met the Nobel Prize laureate for about 45 minutes on Saturday, praising him for embracing non-violence while reiterating that the US did not support independence for Tibet.

China, which accuses the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader of being a separatist who supports the use of violence to set up an independent Tibet, said Obama's meeting had had a "baneful" impact.

Xinhua, the Chinese government press agency, quoted Ma Zhaoxu, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, as saying: "Such an act has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, hurt the feelings of Chinese people and damaged the Sino-American relations.

"We demand the US side to consider seriously China's stance, to immediately adopt measures to wipe out the baneful impact, to stop interfering in China's internal affairs and to cease to connive and support anti-China separatist forces that seek 'Tibet independence'."

China’s critics are being silenced in South-East Asia

Bang a Gong

China’s critics are being silenced in South-East Asia

Apr 20th 2011
The Economist
BANGKOK

IN ITS foreign relations, China parades a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of others. It routinely vetoes UN resolutions on this ground (on Libya, it abstained). It boasts that unlike meddlesome Westerners it offers trade and aid without strings, (see article).

Yet in its pursuit of domestic enemies, China is making more demands of its neighbours. Inviting the Dalai Lama to visit has long been a no-no. The same goes for rebellious Uighurs. A group of 20 that fled to Cambodia in 2009 were handed back to China before they could claim political asylum.

Now the target is Falun Gong, a quasi-Buddhist sect that China banned in 1999. Apparently prodded by China, Vietnam and Indonesia have shut down Falun Gong-affiliated radio stations and prosecuted station operators, though neither country forbids the group. Two Vietnamese men arrested last year face up to five years in jail if found guilty of illegal broadcasting. Their trial had been due to begin on April 8th but was postponed. In Indonesia a station manager went on trial last month for a similar offence.

Dalai Lama confident of living to 113 and seeing a free Tibet

March 16, 2011
By The Nation
Dharamshala, India

In an exclusive interview with The Nation group editor Suthichai Yoon, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said he was confident that he would live until 113 years of age, visit Beijing, witness a free Tibet, choose the next Dalai Lama if he's still alive and pass on his political power to an elected leader.

After his morning sermon to Buddhists from Thailand, China, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma, the Dalai Lama granted an hour's interview to Suthichai yesterday in the reception chamber of his palace in Dharamashala, Himalchal Pradesh.

During the interview, Tibet's spiritual leader confirmed his plan to retire later this year and devolve political power to an elected leader. He expects a nod to his planned retirement and power devolution from his ministers at an upcoming parliamentary session. If the ministers disagree, the Dalai Lama will try to talk with them and convince them of the benefits of his plans. "Some formalities must change," he said.

The Dalai Lama also took the opportunity to take China to task for its past and present aggression and its hard-line stance towards Tibet.

Clinton Calls for International Tribunal on Human Rights Abuses in Myanmar [Pls. don't forget Hun Xen of Cambodia also!]

Nov 6, 2010
By Nicole Gaouette
Bloomberg

The U.S. will work with Australia to establish an international Commission of Inquiry to hold leaders in Myanmar, also known as Burma, accountable for human rights violations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today.

Clinton was speaking in Melbourne where she is spending two days meeting with Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd to discuss trade, climate change and regional institutions. She and Rudd will meet with the U.S. and Australian defense ministers tomorrow to work on security and terrorism issues.

Clinton noted that today Myanmar is holding elections that she said were “deeply flawed” and “once again exposes the abuses of the military junta.” Clinton said the U.S. “holds out hope that new players will emerge in Burma who are committed to pursuing democratic reforms.”

Asia remains the only place in the world where three Nobel laureates, Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, the Dalai Lama, and Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese activist, are either under house arrest, in prison, or in exile, Clinton said.

“The United States will continue to make clear to Burma’s leaders that they must break from the policies of the past,” Clinton said.

Clinton is on a two-week tour of the Asia-Pacific to reaffirm U.S. engagement in the region and assert its leadership. The trip, Clinton’s sixth to the region since taking office, included stops in Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, China, New Zealand and energy-rich Papua New Guinea.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicole Gaouette in Melbourne at ngaouette@bloomberg.net

SRP MP Son Chhay at the 50th Anniversary of Tibet Parliament in Exile

His Holiness The Dalai Lama, the Nobel Prize winner, shook hands with MP Son Chhay after he spoke to more than 20000 Tibetan at the ceremony.
MP Son Chhay with members of the Tibetan government in exile. The Tibetan prime minister is on the far left and the speaker of parliament is sitting in front.
SRP MP Son Chhay spoke to the crowd while His Holiness The Dalai Lama looked on.

Speech by MP Son Chhay For 50th Anniversary of Tibetan Parliament in Exile

(Photo: AP)

SRP MP Son Chhay

Click to read the speech

Short Speech by MP Son Chhay
For 50th Anniversary of Tibetan Parliament in Exile
At Bylakuppe on September 2, 2010

It is both a sad and a proud day for Tibetan people as they celebrate today's 50 year anniversary. 50 years of suffering is too long that the gentle people of Tibet have had to endure under the brutal occupation of Communist China. Yet it is to their great cultural and Buddhist legacy that they have survived and, under the leadership of the Dalai Lama, continue to live with dignity and courage. If I compare this with the four years that the people of Cambodia suffered under the Khmer Rouge regime, a regime which was also supported by China's brutal policies, the Cambodian people themselves came perilously close to extinction.

How can we as a global community continue to turn a blind eye to the crimes against humanity that the regime in Beijing has committed and continues to commit on the Tibetan people? The world leaders must find an effective measure to protect the rights to self determination of the Tibetan people.

As a Cambodian delegate representing a group of Parliamentarians from Cambodia, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Tibetan Parliament in Exile on the occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Founding of Democracy in Exile for your great achievement in serving the Tibetan people and protecting your rich traditions and culture. This has given hope to all Tibetans in exile as well as to those still having to endure the Chinese occupation in Tibet. It has also given to the world a unique and enduring legacy which we cannot afford to lose.

As a Cambodian I pray with you today that the day will come, sooner rather than later, where you will once again prevail as a sovereign nation on Tibetan soil.

Congratulations!

China says only socialism can "save" Tibet

Protest in Tibet (Photo: AP)

Sun Mar 7, 2010
Ben Blanchard
BEIJING

(Reuters) - The new Chinese-appointed governor of Tibet said on Sunday that only socialism can "save" the remote region and guarantee its development, and blamed the Dalai Lama for Tibet's problems.

China has defended its iron-fisted rule in Tibet, saying not only did it free a million Tibetan serfs but it also poured billions of dollars into the Himalayan region for development.

Padma Choling, an ethnic Tibetan appointed governor in January, blamed the region's problems on exiled spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner the Dalai Lama, a man reviled by Beijing as a "separatist" and instigator of anti-Chinese violence.

"The main source of instability in Tibet is the Dalai Lama, and it is also he who causes trouble for Tibet's economic development and socio-economic progress," Padma Choling told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of parliament.

"But I have to say, we are not the least bit scared ... as all the peoples of Tibet have already clearly realized that only the Chinese Communist Party and socialism can save Tibet, and only then can Tibet develop," he said in impeccable Chinese.

Protests led by Buddhist monks against Chinese rule in March 2008 gave way to torrid violence, with rioters torching shops and turning on residents, especially Han Chinese, who many Tibetans see as intruders threatening their culture.

At least 19 people died in the 2008 unrest, which sparked waves of protests across Tibetan areas. Pro-Tibet groups overseas say more than 200 people were killed in a subsequent crackdown.

The Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India in 1959 after an abortive uprising, denies China's charges against him, and says he only seeks more meaningful autonomy for Tibet.

Several rounds of talks in recent years between the Chinese Communist Party and the Dalai Lama's envoys have yielded little.
REINCARNATION POLITICS

Uncertainty also surrounds what will happen once the aging Dalai Lama passes away.

The Dalai Lama has floated several scenarios, including that his successor and reincarnation may not be found in Chinese-controlled territory.

Many Tibetans and pro-Tibet groups fear Beijing will simply announce its own Dalai Lama, as it did with the Panchen Lama, Tibetan's Buddhism's second-highest figure, in 1995. The Dalai Lama's choice for Panchen Lama, a six-year-old boy, was swiftly picked up and taken away by the Chinese authorities.

Human rights groups dubbed the child then "the world's youngest political prisoner."

Padma Choling said that boy was a "victim" of the Dalai Lama's unilateral decision in 1995 to recognize him as the 11th Panchen Lama, and that he was now living a quiet life in Tibet, out of the public gaze.

The governor also poked fun at what he said was the Dalai Lama's indecision on his succession.

"One minute he says he will be reincarnated, the next he won't ... One minute he says it can happen within China, the next it will happen overseas," he said. "I don't know which one is accurate.

"The Dalai Lama is still alive, let's talk about it (his reincarnation) again when he dies," the governor added.

China earlier this year held a work conference to decide future direction in Tibet, which was notable for covering all Tibetan areas, and not just those governed by the Tibet Autonomous Region. The wider scope may be a response to the 2008 uprising.

A similar work conference would be held for Xinjiang, the governor of that region said on Sunday, without giving details.

Xinjiang's capital Urumqi was the scene of deadly riots in July by Uighurs, a Muslim, Turkic-speaking people native to the arid region, after Han Chinese in south China attacked Uighur workers at a factory. Han residents of Urumqi attacked in revenge two days later.

Since those riots, 198 people have been tried in 97 cases, governor Nuer Baikeli told reporters. He did not give details on the fate of 20 Uighurs who had sought asylum from the U.N. refugee office in Phnom Penh in December, who were deported by Cambodia back to China.

"The press conference was a pretence to trick outsiders," World Uyghur Congress spokesman Dilshat Raxit told Reuters.

"Uighur people want to decide for themselves how to run their affairs."

(Additional reporting by Lucy Hornby)

Dalai Lama's sister denied visa [by Thailand, a Bhuddist country that accomodates communist China!]

March 4, 2010
By Supalak Ganjanakhundee and Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation

Jetsun Pema, younger sister of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and her husband Tenpa Tsering, were denied an entry visa to Thailand due to fears their political message during a cultural event would upset "another country," the Foreign Ministry said yesterday - presumably meaning China.

Jetsun Pema, the younger sister of Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and her husband Tenpa Tsering, were denied an entry visa to Thailand due to fears their political message during a cultural event would upset "another country," the Foreign Ministry said yesterday - presumably meaning China.

Jetsun Pema was supposed to be in Thailand from March 5-7 to join the Tibetan spirituality, art and culture event entitled "From the Himalayas to the Chao Phya River" hosted at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. She was scheduled to speak on Saturday on Buddhist education for Tibetan schools in exile, and about her book "Tibet: My story".

The pair's request for an entry visa was rejected as Thailand did not want to have any political difficulties with another concerned country, said the Foreign Minister's secretary, Chavanond Intarakomalyasut.

"We don't have any problem with cultural and art events from Tibet, but wanted to reserve our right to reject any politically related issue which might affect good relations with another country," he said, without naming the country.

A diplomatic source said officials from the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok had lobbied Thai autho-rities to block the entire event. A compromise was reached to retain only the cultural and arts sections of |the event after negotiations with |the organiser, the Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation.

Social critic Sulak Sivaraksa slammed Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya for the visa refusal, accusing the Thai government of caving in to pressure from China.

"We have allowed China to dictate to us [about whom to allow into the Kingdom and whom not to]. Four Chinese nationals were also recently arrested while protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy [in Bangkok] and are soon to be deported", he said.

Surasi Kosolnawin, chairman of the co-sponsor Sathirakoses-Naga-pradipa Foundation, personally lobbied Kasit but to no avail, he said.

Sulak claimed that Kasit told Surasi he did not want China to be upset with Thailand, now that both Cambodia and Burma are already upset with the Kingdom. He told [Surasi] that Cambodia and Burma already hated him.

Sulak urged Thailand to follow the US in handling the Tibetan issue and cited a recent meeting between US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama as an example.

Dubbed the "Mother of Tibet" by Tibetan People's Deputies in exile, Jetsun Pema, 70, has played a significant role in the Tibetan political movement. She became the first woman minister in the Tibetan government-in-exile. She has focused her work on education and received many world-famous awards for her work in education and peace, including the Unesco Medal in 1999.

Jetsun Pema played the role of her own mother in "Seven Years in Tibet", a 1997 movie about the young Dalai Lama.

China summons U.S. ambassador over Dalai Lama meeting

The Dalai Lama walks outside the White House after his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday.

February 19, 2010

Beijing, China (CNN) -- China summoned the U.S. ambassador on Friday to express its "strong dissatisfaction" over the Dalai Lama's meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama a day earlier.

China didn't disclose what was discussed during the session with Ambassador Jon Huntsman at the Foreign Ministry. But Beijing had warned that a meeting between the president and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader would damage its ties with Washington.

"The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this meeting," a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement after Thursday's meeting at the White House.

"China demands the U.S. seriously consider China's stance, immediately adopt measures to wipe out the adverse impact, [and] stop conniving and supporting anti-China separatist forces."

The U.S. Embassy didn't characterize Friday's meeting, but it provided the message Huntsman delivered to Deputy Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai.

"Now is the time to move forward and cooperate in ways that benefit our two counties, the region and the world," Huntsman said, according to the U.S. Embassy.

The meeting has the potential to further complicate Sino-U.S. tensions, which have been rising in recent months.

The Dalai Lama has said he favors genuine autonomy for Tibetans, not independence for Tibet. Beijing regards the Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a separatist who wishes to sever Tibet from China.

Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama "runs against the repeated commitments by the U.S. government that the U.S. recognizes Tibet as part of China and gives no support to 'Tibet independence'," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

During the meeting, Obama stressed his "strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity, and the protection of human rights for Tibetans," according to a White House statement.

The president praised the Dalai Lama's "commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," the statement added. He also stressed the importance of having both sides "engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences, and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks," it noted.

The Dalai Lama, while acknowledging that he raised concerns about Tibet during the meeting, did not provide further specifics about his home region's political situation while addressing reporters.

He said he admired America as a "champion of democracy and ... freedom," and cited the need to promote "religious harmony" and "human value."

He also met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The meeting between the Dalai Lama and Obama could "seriously undermine the Sino-U.S. political relations," Zhu Weiqun, a senior Communist Party leader in charge of ethnic and religious affairs, warned recently.

"We will take corresponding action to make relevant countries see their mistakes."

On Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the meeting "grossly violated the norms governing ... international relations."

Obama did not meet with the Dalai Lama when the spiritual leader visited Washington last fall, making it the first time since 1991 that such a meeting did not occur. Ahead of a summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Obama persuaded Tibetan representatives back then to postpone the meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Thursday's encounter took place against the backdrop of several contentious issues already threatening to sour the relationship between America and China, including trade disputes, a recent U.S. arm sales deal for Taiwan -- which China considers an illegitimate breakaway province -- and a censorship row over Internet search engine Google Inc.

The meeting is "another event in the recent, one has to say, downward spiral in U.S.-China relations," said China scholar David Shambaugh.

It's also troublesome for the Chinese for one other important reason, Shambaugh said.

"He could have met him as a spiritual leader in a neutral place like a church," he said. But receiving him in the White House "is a political act. And that is going to irritate China very much."

The meeting did not take place in the formal, official setting of the Oval Office. It was instead held in the White House Map Room, which is considered part of the presidential residence. The choice of settings was considered by many observers to be a sign of Washington's acknowledgment of Beijing's political sensitivities.

Some analysts said the Chinese government could retaliate by cutting off political exchanges as they did after the Dalai Lama met with the heads of state of France and Germany. And Hu could turn down an invitation to visit Washington in April.

Neither China nor the United States can afford strained relations, said Douglas Paal, a diplomat and investment banker who has served as a presidential adviser on China.

"We both need each other," he said. "We need each other for a number of international security issues -- to deal with the global climate crisis, to deal with the global financial crisis."

China is the largest growing export market for U.S. companies, Paal said, expanding by 65 percent last year alone.

Nearly three-quarters of all Americans think that Tibet should be an independent country, according to a new national CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll.

But the survey, released Thursday, also indicates that most Americans think it is more important to maintain good relations with China than to take a stand on Tibet.

Fatal flaws in Chinese law

The Dalai Lama, a thorn for communist China (Photo: AP)

28/12/2009
Bangkok Post
EDITORIAL

China is a rapidly emerging nation, in the jargon of the day, but it has shown defects that will prevent it from being a true world power. Industrially and in many economic areas, China measures up to its reputation as a global player. Its defence forces are modernising. But two recent events, at home and abroad, show that Beijing has not earned and cannot command the respect of a 21st century superpower.

The ''state subversion'' trial of the dissident Liu Xiaobo failed all possible tests of fairness. Outsiders were not permitted and the witnesses did not testify in public. Mr Liu, a 53-year-old former literature professor, was brought into the court, heard his accusation read, and then was taken away for 11 years in prison, plus two more years of enforced censorship.

The procedure was no trial to determine guilt or innocence. Instead, it was a harsh warning to others who might dare to write or to voice complaints against central authorities.

The second case took place in Cambodia, and the proceedings were even murkier and more opaque than the trial of Prof Liu. Chinese diplomats or other authorities gave Cambodia orders, threats or an ultimatum - who knows which, or what combination? - that caused the Hun Sen government to reverse its old policy of granting asylum to political refugees. Now, Cambodia has ''decided'' to deport 20 Chinese Uighurs, including two infants back to China. Beijing has said the 20 were criminals, involved in last July's riots which left at least 197 people dead in Urumqi city and the surrounding Xinjiang Autonomous Region.

China offered no public proof that the Uighur refugees were criminals or violent. The refugees themselves said they feared punishment, jail terms or the death penalty. Cambodian authorities who had previously drawn strong praise from the United Nations for helping refugees from regional minority groups clearly felt the Chinese breath on their back of the neck over the case. It was obviously no coincidence that just days after Cambodia deported the Uighur, China announced 14 separate aid deals, worth US$850 million (30 billion baht).

Like all countries, China uses its diplomatic and economic strength to try to gain its strategic goals. But Beijing officials too often go overboard, seem unwilling to suspend their own questionable beliefs, and consider that there is more than one way to approach an issue and to solve disagreement.

For example, China has bullied Thailand for three decades over the Dalai Lama. The Chinese embassy and senior government officials on visits to Thailand have made it clear there would be severe repercussions if the former Tibetan leader stepped foot on Thai soil. It is a shame that Thai officials have bent to this threat, but there is no reason to make such an issue out of a possible visit to Thailand by a world Buddhist figure. China, of course, made exiled Thai communists welcome and gave them strong support for the violent plans to overthrow the government and institutions of Thailand. Nor has any harm come to Thailand because of failure to crack down on the Falungong group, detested and banned in China.

The single-minded cruelty of the Liu trial and the Uighur deportation is a serious blemish on the makeup of the Chinese administration. It is clear from examples in China and other countries that Prof Liu posed no real threat to central power. Both he and the Uighur families deserved fair hearings instead of the deeply flawed justice of today's China.

Politiktoons No. 73: Voodoo - Kong Foul

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.com
and also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

Politiktoons No. 68: Tibet, Hell on Earth

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://politiktoons.blogspot.com
and also at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)