China dissatisfied with Tibetan exhibition in Minsk
- 21.04.2009, 11:38
The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China states the Belarusian authorities “play a double game”.
The harsh remarks of the embassy were caused by an exhibition organized in Yanka Kupala Central Library in Minsk by Minsk Confucius Institute dedicated to Tibet and publication of a book Asian Dragon Triangle by Ihar Malevich, deputy head of the Confucius Institute.
a position of the PCR embassy was introduced to Interfax agency by Syarhei Musienka, head of EcooM analytical center, member of the Public Consultative Council at the Belarusian President’s Administration. According to him, the Chinese party suspects the Belarusian authorities of “playing a double game – making attempts to walk a tightrope between the PRC, Taiwan, and Tibet”.
“We should understand that Confucius Institute has an exclusive status in Belarus. In the whole world, it is an influential Chinese structure, only in Minsk, due to special PRC-Belarus relations, China allowed the Institute to be subjective to Belarusian State University with a head appointed by the BSU leadership,” S. Musienka explained. He drew attention to the fact that China regards a position of the Institute as a position of the state, as a position of the structural unit of the leading university of the country.
Confucius Institute is headed by former rector of Belarusian State University Vasily Strazhau. The institute is sponsored by the PRC government – IF.
“The photo exhibition “Chinese Tibet” by A. Andreeva, member of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, represented works demonstrating “spiritual devastation” of Tibet of the last years, meaning the situation will improve when Dalai Lama returns there,” S. Musienka noted speaking about China’s impressions of the exhibition. The pictures didn’t reflect the achievements China has brought to Tibet for the last few years – a high-altitude railway, and so on.
“Neither the photographer nor the deputy head of Confucius Institute accepted an invitation of the PRC embassy to come and discuss this issue,” Musienka told. “There was a meeting between Chinese diplomats and the BSU rector and the first deputy minister of education, but there wasn’t any reaction,” he added.
According to Musienka, another reason to doubt sincerity of the Belarusian authorities was a book Asian Dragon Triangle by Ihar Malevich, deputy head of Confucius Institute, issued in the printing house of the Department of President’s Affaires “Belarusian Printing House”. “For the example, the book states ‘the Republic of Chine today is only the island of Taiwan and some small shelf islands’, ‘Taiwan: is it a model of the future Chine?’, “50-year occupation of Tibet, introduction of communist Chinese governmental officials to the Tibetan monasteries”, told the director if the analytical center. He ironically added that I. Malevich recommended buying as a textbook for students and sinologists.
According to S. Musienka, China is shocked by the fact that the country, they are developing political and economic relations with, plays a double, in their view, game. “They regard this as an official position, as it comes from the official structures,” Musienka emphasised.
In his view, such a short-sighted position “is fraught with deterioration of relations with one of the leading world states and withdrawal of the agreements reached between the heads of state.”
S. Musienka also added that according to the information of the Chinese embassy, leadership of Confucius Institute in Minsk, in particular rector V. Strazhau and deputy director I. Malevich would hardly receive Chinese visas.