Oppressive regimes and religious expression

As I recently noted, Cuba is opening up its prisons so that Catholic and Protestant prisoners can celebrate religious ceremonies. This may soon extend as well to Jews and practitioners of Santería, an Afro-Cuban religion. It's a sign that as the hold of the brothers Castro weakens in Cuba, tolerance of religion may gradually increase.

It's heartening to see a repressive regime reaching out in such a way to "the least of these," its prisoners. But just as I was enjoying the news, I spotted this item in the LA Times about China's opposition to Barack Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama.

In spite of the fact that the Dalai Lama has met with every president since George H.W. Bush, China persists in its opposition. But there remains the question: what difference has it made in the past, and how will it make a difference now? Although under the last Bush administration the Dalai Lama received a Congressional Gold Medal, Tibet is still under Chinese control, and the Dalai Lama still in exile in India.

This is not to say that there are no solutions. In fact, were the Chinese leadership willing to take the simple step of talking with the Dalai Lama about the situation in Tibet, perhaps with the United States as a mediator of sorts, tensions might be eased, China might gain face for having a more open and tolerant government, and relations between the U.S. and China may improve. To reject the chance to meet with a widely respected and influential holy man is not something I think most Americans would advise Obama to do, no matter his faith. The question is, will China be able to follow Cuba's lead? Can there be a softening of the heart when it comes to faith?

In truth, I doubt the meeting will truly change much. China and the US have too much to lose for the meeting to be anything but a meeting, plain and simple, good words to be said by Obama and the Dalai Lama, and everyone will go their own ways.The Dalai Lama has said that Tibet is not seeking independence from China. Surely the US, or even Cuba, might be able to have some impact on the minds of China's leaders.

photo by hoyasmeg