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Barack Obama's decision not to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington this week did more than just send a message of appeasement to Beijing. It also set a precedent for global leaders that shunning the Tibetan spiritual leader is now okay, even in nations that support the basic human rights and democratic freedoms for which the Dalai Lama stands.
Australia certainly got the message: Last week the office of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced he would not meet the Dalai Lama during a December visit. "Given the frequency of the Dalai Lama's visits the government believes the current arrangements are appropriate," a statement from a spokesman said, pointing out that the Dalai Lama had visited three times in three years.
What a strange comment. Mr. Rudd has never met the Dalai Lama in his nearly two years as Prime Minister. In 2002, when Mr. Rudd was in opposition, he said it was "pretty weak" that then-Foreign Minister Alexander Downer couldn't find time to meet the Tibetan during a visit. Mr. Rudd's predecessor, John Howard, met with the Dalai Lama twice while he was in office, including during his first year as prime minister.
Mr. Rudd may be worried about the Chinese backlash that would surely follow a meeting. Earlier this year, Beijing furiously protested an appearance by Uighur rights advocate Rebiya Kadeer at an Australian film festival. Tensions also flared in June, when Australian mining giant Rio Tinto rejected a potential deal with Chinalco, and in July when Chinese authorities arrested an Australian citizen and Rio Tinto employee, Stern Hu, on charges of bribe-taking.
Faced with these tensions, the worst thing Mr. Rudd can do is cave in to Chinese pressure before it is even applied. That only rewards Beijing's history of bullying. As for the Obama Administration, it should take note of the real results of its new Tibet policy.
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