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Journalism of Courage
It is easy to get depressed about the trauma of Tibet8230; It is8230; almost half a century since the Dalai Lama fled his country. He has never been able to return and recent events make it highly unlikely that he will in the foreseeable future. Over that half century the Soviet Union has collapsed8230; apartheid has been defeated8230; colonial empires have disappeared, and the US could be about to elect its first black president. But Tibet and the Tibetans remain under the iron hand of Beijing8230;
A solution is already available that would not only meet Tibetan aspirations but would do so in a way8230; acceptable to China. China8230; invented the concept of two systems in one country8230; the people of Hong Kong have been able to continue to live as a Western, capitalist enclave within the Chinese body politic. Although there are clear limits to its freedom and democratic rights, Hong Kong enjoys real autonomy, a functioning rule of law and a liberal press and media that have no equivalent in most of China.
An autonomous, self-governing Tibet within China should not be that difficult for the Chinese to accept8230; The Chinese, for their part, would find that their reputation in the world as a whole was transformed8230; The internet and the mobile phone have made it impossible for them to seal off Tibet from the outside world. Increased repression or political and cultural reform are the only choices left available to them and the price they would pay if they opt for repression will be high and will grow8230;
Excerpted from Malcolm Rifkind8217;s 8216;Tibet: try the Hong Kong solution8217; in The Times, London, March 21
