BEIJING — Chinese officials use colorful language to describe the Dalai Lama, a "jackal clad in Buddhist monk's robes and an evil spirit with a human face and the heart of a beast," as the Communist Party chief for Tibet put it.
But behind the rhetoric, there are more polite, and potentially fruitful, contacts between the Chinese government and the 72-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader.
As anti-Chinese demonstrations were breaking out in sympathy with protests in Tibet and fire-extinguisher-wielding activists were chasing the Olympic torch across the globe, a quiet back-channel dialogue was taking place.
"Even in the middle of this tragic crisis, we have kept open the channel of communications with the Chinese government," the Dalai Lama's chief negotiator, Lodi Gyari, said in a telephone interview Wednesday from Paris, where he was soliciting French support for talks. He said that so far, the contacts with the Chinese weren't encouraging.
"To be candid, it is nothing but rhetoric, similar to what they [the Chinese government] say publicly," Gyari said. "But we hope when the situation returns to normal, or as normal as it can be, they will realize that this was a wake-up call for a more sensible approach."
The Dalai Lama himself alluded to contacts with the Chinese government at a news conference Sunday in Seattle, where he was attending a conference. "Just a few days these are going on," he said without elaborating.
If there is unanimity in the international community on just one question, it is that China should negotiate with the Dalai Lama.
Direct talks between Beijing and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader are a precondition set by some dignitaries, most notably French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for attending the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Many diplomats believe China's only hope of quieting the furor and restoring glory to the Summer Games would be a grand gesture such as sitting down to talk.
In recent weeks, most of the living Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, have called for China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama. Last week, President Bush joined other world leaders in the call for talks, saying, "If they ever were to reach out to the Dalai Lama, they'd find him to be a really fine man, a peaceful man, a man who is anti-violence."
