After the head of the European Parliament invited the Dalai Lama to address the body on events in Tibet, parliament members passed a resolution urging China to resume talks with the Dalai Lama and called on EU leaders to boycott the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in August.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced last Wednesday that he would not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics, even though he had previously said he would attend.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will also not rule out the possibility of boycotting the opening ceremony unless the Chinese government meets three conditions: ending violence against its population, releasing political prisoners and opening a dialogue with the Dalai Lama over recent events in Tibet.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel previously also declared that she would not be attending the opening ceremony.
In Italy, there are even calls for a boycott of the Olympics, as the majority of Italians, the right of center Northern League and the left of center radical parties all have expressed support for such a boycott.
Judging from former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s front-runner status in Italy’s upcoming elections, Italy is likely to promote such a boycott.
As a common position on the Tibet issue has gradually developed among the EU’s four largest countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Estonia, and the European Parliament, many believe that other EU member states will be influenced and follow suit to safeguard human rights.
In the wake of protests against the Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco, strong global support is building in defense of human rights in Tibet.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will not attend the opening ceremony, an aide has said.
International Olympic Committee chairman Jacques Rogge, US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the Japanese government and the EU have spoken up in defense of human rights in Tibet, but democratic Taiwan has yet to express a firm view on the matter.
In order to facilitate broad cross-strait political and economic exchanges, Taiwan seems to intentionally brush aside the issue of Tibetan human rights while showing good will toward China.
Regrettably, Taiwan didn’t take advantage of China’s crackdown on the protests in Tibet to spotlight its democratic values.
Instead, Taiwan has chosen not to exhibit its democracy to the international community at this opportune moment.
After the new Taiwanese government comes to power, shouldn’t democratic Taiwan join forces with Western countries in an attempt to accelerate the democratization of China?
Chang Meng-jen is a doctoral candidate in Comparative European Politics at the University of Siena in Italy.
Translated by Ted Yang
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