China cancels boundary talks

China demanded that India cancel a Buddhist conference in Delhi which the Dalai Lama was expected to address. The conference coincided with the boundary talks between Dai Bingguo and Shivshankar Menon also to be held here. India refused. China cancelled the talks. This is how things have played out since last week, when China sent a message to India asking that the government prevent the Dalai Lama from speaking at the Buddhist conference in the Capital. A surprised government said Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and free to speak on spiritual matters and refused China’s request. The Chinese side upped the ante, demanding the Indian government cancel the conference. India refused to comply, saying this was a spiritual conference and the freedom was an essential part of New Delhi. The Indian side even promised full security to the Chinese delegates. Beijing, however, called off the talks. Although later Chinese officials said they wanted to hold the talks “very soon”, India has reacted coolly. The ball, said sources, is in Beijing’s court. For a Chinese communist leadership in the throes of a leadership transition, the optics of Dai Bingguo breathing the same air as Dalai Lama may be difficult to sell at home. Sources said, this could have been the reason behind China calling off the talks. The Chinese approach appears to have hardened after the recent East Asia summit in Bali. In recent months, China has also successfully prevented the Dalai Lama from being present for an event in South Africa. The Buddhist conference, being organized by the Ashoka Mission, will be held from November 27 to 30 to celebrate 2, 600 years of Buddha’s enlightenment and will host scholars and thinkers from 32 countries.