It’s not surprising that the Beijing government is pressuring the Taiwanese government to rescind their invitation to the Dalai Lama to come visit their country. Despite the fact that the Dalai Lama has visited Taiwan twice in the last twelve years, the Chinese government is now actively waging a campaign against the Dalai Lama. One of the key planks in their strategy is to get him dis-invited from visits to countries that he has previously visited without objection. Recently this pressure has been used to get South Africa and Belgium to drop their invitations to His Holiness. The Chinese government has also pressured France, Australia, the United States, and other European countries regarding visits by the Dalai Lama or his participation in events.

This is a craven and dangerous tactic by the Chinese government, but what is worse is that some governments are listening to China and shutting out the Dalai Lama. I hope the Taiwanese government stays strong in the face of Beijing’s pressure and threats, but we shall see.