Cal. Democrats hesitate to honor Dalai Lama

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-18 14:12

LOS ANGELES -- California Assembly Democrats have balked at a resolution to honor the Dalai Lama and mark the 50th anniversary of his aborted armed rebellion in southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The California Legislature, in an unusual move, referred the resolution on Monday to the Assembly Rules Committee, where some believe it will probably wither and die, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Its author, Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, said the Democrats' hesitation was a result of Chinese consulate representatives' dissuasion at the Capitol.

Blakeslee released a letter to state lawmakers from the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, which warned that the resolution would damage the US-China relations.

The letter reiterated that Tibet was never an independent country and that it was never invaded or occupied by China. In fact, it said, the Chinese government has pushed through reforms liberating Tibet from feudal serfdom and theocratic rule.

"As the world economy faces a grim situation, it is all the more important for the most developed country and the biggest developing country in the world to cross the river in a common boat and proceed hand in hand," the paper quoted the letter as saying.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the democratic reform in Tibet.

Fifty years ago, the central government of China foiled an armed rebellion by the Dalai Lama and his supporters to block the reform of the feudal serfdom in Tibet and split the region from China.

On March 28, 1959, a new local Tibetan government was formed, freeing millions of Tibetan serfs and slaves, who accounted for more than 90 percent of the then population.

The Dalai Lama and his followers, since their exile, have continued to pursue either disguised or undisguised activities to separate Tibet from China and restore feudal serfdom in the region.

On March 14 last year, followers of the Dalai Lama staged riots in Lhasa. Their violence resulted in 18 deaths of civilians and huge loss of properties.