Beijing/Brussels, 31/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - As already reported briefly (see yesterday's EUROPE, page 17), Per Gahrton (Greens, Sweden), Chair of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with China, proposed during his visit to Beijing that the Dalai Lama become the "governor" of Tibet. However, as Mr Gahrton himself told the press, the Speaker of the Chinese Parliament Li Peng replied that this would only be possible if the Dalai Lama adopted Chinese nationality and dropped demands for independence. According to the People's Daily, Li Peng also told his interlocutors that "certain European and American personalities know little about the history and reality of Tibet and draw their conclusions from biased and false reports in the press".
Mr Gahrton also said he had held "frank" discussions with Chinese authorities, to whom he submitted two lists of names, one of dissidents and the other of members of the Falungong sect.
In Brussels, Olivier Dupuis, Member of the EP and Secretary of the transnational Radical Party, voiced indignation over his fellow Member's proposal, writing to EP President Nicole Fontaine to ask her to call on Mr Gahrton to resign from his post as Chair of the EP/China Delegation. The proposal to make the Dalai Lama a provincial governor, he said, is "irresponsible" not only because it fails to take account of the "violation of international law represented by China's invasion and occupation of Tibet" and the "bad faith of Chinese leaders of the past 50 years in regard to the opening of real negotiations with the Dalai Lama", but also because it is a violation of European Parliament rules requiring interparliamentary delegations to represent "faithfully only those positions adopted officially by Parliament". Mr Dupuis recalled the EP resolution stating that Tibet should be considered an occupied territory since 1949 and the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile the legitimate representatives of the Tibetan people (and the EU governments should examine the possibility of recognising it if this government and authorities in Beijing do not come to agreement on Tibet's status within three years). Tibet's autonomy must not be "limited" (as recommended by Mr Gahrton), but must guarantee full autonomy for the Tibetans, with the sole exception of foreign and defence policy, he added.