- News>
- India
India, China rivalry not good for Asia: Dalai Lama
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama feels the India-China `rivalry` is neither good for Asia nor for the cause of the Tibetans and says there is real room to develop trust between the two neighbours.
New York: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama feels the India-China `rivalry` is neither good for Asia nor for the cause of the Tibetans and says there is real room to develop trust between the two neighbours.
The Dalai Lama, who is here for a two-week tour of the US west coast, said genuine good relations based on mutual trust are crucial for the economic development of India and China.
"Not at all," the 78-year-old told Time magazine when asked if the India-China rivalry is good for Asia and for the cause of the Tibetans.
"Genuine good relations based on mutual trust (could) really make a significant contribution to economic development, as well as to education and spirituality. So there is a real room to develop trust between India and China," he said. On China`s new President Xi Jinping, the Dalai Lama said he is tackling corruption courageously, quite effectively and fearlessly but lamented the censorship prevalent in Chinese society.
He said that real development must take place in rural areas.
"It is not a solution to build new, big cities. (Also) 1.3 billion Chinese people have every right to know reality. Censorship is an unrealistic method that actually develops distrust and suspicion," he said.
"The Chinese judicial system must be lifted up to the international standard of judiciary systems. Then these 1 billion poor people can have some kind of protection."
He said he does not feel that the US has backed away from addressing human rights issues in China because Beijing is a more important economic power.
"Freedom, democracy, justice, these are American principles. (For) some people, the economy is more important. That`s a mistake. Look at Africa, Syria. Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future," he said. He said the US should pay more attention to issues like ecology, particularly in the wake of the unusual snow in the east coast.
"Then in England and India also, the climate pattern is changing. Some scientists believe climate change is the cause of unprecedented melting of the North Pole, and that effects these very uncertain weather patterns. I think we should listen to those scientists and experts," he said.
The Dalai Lama, who is here for a two-week tour of the US west coast, said genuine good relations based on mutual trust are crucial for the economic development of India and China.
"Not at all," the 78-year-old told Time magazine when asked if the India-China rivalry is good for Asia and for the cause of the Tibetans.
"Genuine good relations based on mutual trust (could) really make a significant contribution to economic development, as well as to education and spirituality. So there is a real room to develop trust between India and China," he said. On China`s new President Xi Jinping, the Dalai Lama said he is tackling corruption courageously, quite effectively and fearlessly but lamented the censorship prevalent in Chinese society.
He said that real development must take place in rural areas.
"It is not a solution to build new, big cities. (Also) 1.3 billion Chinese people have every right to know reality. Censorship is an unrealistic method that actually develops distrust and suspicion," he said.
"The Chinese judicial system must be lifted up to the international standard of judiciary systems. Then these 1 billion poor people can have some kind of protection."
He said he does not feel that the US has backed away from addressing human rights issues in China because Beijing is a more important economic power.
"Freedom, democracy, justice, these are American principles. (For) some people, the economy is more important. That`s a mistake. Look at Africa, Syria. Because of lack of moral principle, human life becomes worthless. Moral principle, truthfulness, is a key factor. If we lose that, then there is no future," he said. He said the US should pay more attention to issues like ecology, particularly in the wake of the unusual snow in the east coast.
"Then in England and India also, the climate pattern is changing. Some scientists believe climate change is the cause of unprecedented melting of the North Pole, and that effects these very uncertain weather patterns. I think we should listen to those scientists and experts," he said.