China Marks 60 years of Control of Tibet

Festivities marking 60 years of the Tibet Autonomous Region

There was a big party on Lhasa to mark the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party of China's governance of Xizang or Tibet with a massive parade complete with goose-stepping soldiers, colourful floats and dancers dressed in costumes representing 56 ethnic minorities.

President Xi Jinping was on hand to witness the celebrations. One China expert pointed out Xi's appearance should put to rest any rumours of the leader's health as it would not be a good idea for a 72-year-old with health issues to go to Lhasa, which is at 3,636 metres above sea level.

Xi made his second trip to Tibet since 2021

The last time Xi visited Tibet was in 2021, his first trip there. But interestingly this time Xi did not speak.

Wang Huning, China's No. 4 official, said that since the 18th party congress in 2012, under Xi's guidance and comprehensive plan, "Tibet has entered its best period of development, experiencing the greatest changes and bringing the most tangible benefits to people of all ethnic groups".

During the parade, floats representing several different cities drove past Xi and the audience at the foot of the Potala Palace. 

While China regards this anniversary as one that benefitted Xizang, others see it as six decades of iron fist control over the religious region that used to be governed by the Dalai Lama. 

Military strength on display at the anniversary

In March 1959, the Tibetan spiritual leader fled by foot across the border to India and settled in Dharamshala, where he and his entourage and followers have been ever since.

Six years later the Communist Part established the Tibet Autonomous Region, after Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, and Ningxia.

The Dalai Lama has been playing a political game of chess with the CPC over who and where the next leader will be. In early July he said he will have a successor that he himself will appoint and "no-one else has any authority to interfere in this matter".

According to Tibetan tradition, Dalai Lamas are "reincarnated" after they die. 

However, Beijing claims the religious leader's successor would be from inside China and must be approved by the government.

Walz's Passionate, Nuanced Stance on China

Hope, Gus, Tim and Gwen Walz at the DNC in Chicago tonight

Tonight US vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz took to the stage of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and explained to the audience who he was, and what he stood for. 

He is a former soldier, high school teacher, and football coach who was the brains behind labelling Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance as "weird".

During his 20-minute speech, Walz talked about growing up in Minnesota in a small town of 400 people, how there were only 24 students in his graduating class and how he and his wife spent years trying to conceive a baby and now have a son and a daughter.

Walz addressed Democrat delegates

He mentioned how they, Hope and Gus and his wife Gwen, "you are my entire world, and I love you", to which Gus, Walz's 17-year-old who has ADHD and a non-verbal learning disorder, jumped to his feet crying and pointed to his father and said, "I love you dad."

While Walz has shown himself to be a family man, he is also well versed in geopolitics, in particular China. He has had on-the-ground experience being there, having taught English and American history in Foshan, Guandong province in 1989. 

At the time Walz was 25 years old, fresh out of college and signed up for Harvard University's WorldTeach program, where he was one of the "first government sanctioned groups of American educators" to arrive in China after reform and opening up.

And yes 1989 was the year of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations.

"It was my belief at that time that diplomacy was going to happen on many levels, certainly people to people," Walz recalled during a 2014 congressional hearing commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. "The opportunity to be in a Chinese high school at that critical time seemed to me to be really important."

He has met HK activist Joshua Wong

He did go up to Beijing see Tiananmen Square after the massacre was over.

That one year teaching in China made an impression on Walz, so much that he and his wife not only married on June 4, 1994, but also honeymooned there. Subsequently he made some 30 trips there promoting student cultural exchanges.

While Republicans are trying to label Walz as a panda hugger, he is not. Walz has shown his support for Tibet and Hong Kong, having met the Dalai Lama and activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung. 

It is Walz's personal experiences in China that help shape his nuanced view of the country and its politics, which will serve him well should he and Kamala Harris get voted into the White House.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Visits Beijing

Joly met with Wang in Beijing today, first visit in seven years

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly made a surprise visit to Beijing, the first in seven years following the detainment of the two Michaels, and an investigation into China's alleged interference in Canada's elections, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joly met with her counterpart Wang Yi with the hopes of stabilising bilateral relations between the two countries. 

"The two ministers took note of recent positive developments in relations, including the resumption of consular consultations, and the recent exchanges at senior levels," says a readout (summary) of the meeting released by Global Affairs Canada.

The discussions were described as "pragmatic"

"Minister Joly's visit reaffirms the Minister's commitment to pragmatic engagement with China and the development of sound and stable bilateral relations."

The statement goes on to say that China "indicated a willingness to explore opportunities to strengthen engagement" on such issues as climate and the environment, curbing the fentanyl crisis and working to improve trade relations.

China's readout echoed Canada's description of the talks, saying: "As two major countries with important influence in the Asia-Pacific region, both countries share extensive common interests and complementary advantages."

During the meeting with Wang, Joly did bring up the thorny issue of reports of Chinese interference in Canadian politics, such as the elections in 2019 and 2021, China accused of setting up police stations in Vancouver and Toronto, and the targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong.

However China's statement said: "Issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong are all China's internal affairs and no external interference is allowed."

Detainment of two Michaels put relations on ice

Nevertheless, China experts say this is a good first step. Former China diplomat Guy St Jacques says the Chinese economy is in the doldrums and wants to convince foreign companies to invest in China. "They know that after the arrest of Meng Wanzhou and the two Michaels, that Canadian executives are still reluctant to travel to China," he said in an interview with CBC.

He added that despite political relations not doing well, last year Canada established a new record in terms of exports to China of C$31 billion, in terms of minerals and agri-food products. 

St Jacques thinks Wang will seek Joly's opinion about what is happening in the US presidential election and perhaps she will invite him to come to Canada at an appropriate time.

Well take this visit as a positive step, and perhaps China conferring approved destination status on Canada in the near future?

Will Visitors from Eight Mainland Cities Boost HK's Economy?

Can tourists from other parts of China revive HK's economy?

Hong Kong can boost its tourism numbers now that Beijing has approved visitors from eight mainland cities. They are... drumroll please...

These visitors can stay for up to seven days

Taiyuan, the capital city of Shanxi province

Hohhot in Inner Mongolia autonomous region

Harbin in Heilongjiang

Lhasa in Tibet

Lanzhou in Gansu province

Xining in Qinghai province

Yinchuan, capital city of Ningxia Hui autonomous region

Urumqi in Xinjiang

From May 27, residents from these cities will be able to apply for the Individual Visit Scheme to travel to Hong Kong and not need to join a group tour and can stay for seven days at a time.

The Individual Visit Scheme has been around since 2003 post-SARS in a bid to kickstart Hong Kong's economy. 

But will adding visitors from these eight cities help boost the city's businesses?

Does HK need more poseurs on the streets?

Tourism officials are projecting these tourists will visit Hong Kong for at least three days, meaning they will stay in hotels, but will they find the prices acceptable? They might do what others in the Greater Bay Area have done -- spend the day in Hong Kong and stay overnight across the border...

Are these the tourists who will spend money? 

Seems the Hong Kong Tourism Board has given up on long-haul visitors even though they are the ones who have the money to spend...