The Dalai Lama met with President George Bush this week. He was in Washington to receive the highest award of the legislative branch of the United States government. Congress awarded the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal on October 17, 2007 in an event in the Capital Rotunda. The Chinese Government reacted angrily about the award bestowed on the Dalai Lama and the meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Bush. An editorial in the official China Daily newspaper, titled "Wrong Move by the US," said: "This event will certainly cast a shadow over the relations." Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi added: "It seriously violates the norm of international relations and seriously wounded the feelings of the Chinese people and interfered with China's internal affairs." Also, Consider the statements about the Dalai Lama's scheduled meeting with President George Bush from China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao :"The Dalai Lama is not a simple or a pure religious figure. He is a political exile who undertakes secessionist activities abroad. We oppose meetings between him and other leaders."

The Chinese Government's reaction shows that even after fifty three years of forced exile from the leadership of his country of Tibet, the Dalai Lama remains an international figure truly feared in Beijing. Despite persistent efforts to undermine him by Chinese authorities, Tibetans continue to revere the Dalai Lama as their spiritual and political leader. In addition, the seventy two year old Dalai Lama has been embraced by the free world as a champion of human rights and as a man of peace. In addition to the Congressional Gold Medal to be awarded to him this week, here is a list of some of the other worldwide awards and recognition bestowed on Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama:

- Winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize

- Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award 1994

- World Security Annual Peace Award

- Peace and Unity Award from the National Peace Conference

- Earth Prize from the U.N. and United Earth

- Advancing Human Liberty from the Freedom House

- Le Prix De La Memoire from Foundation Danielle Mitterand, France

- Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Award

- Presidential Distinguished Professor at Emory University

-Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2005

-Honorary citizen of Canada in 2006 - Parliament of Canada voted unanimously

-Honorary citizen of the Ukraine

-Jaime Brunet Prize for Human Rights

-Hilton Humanitarian Award

-Honorary Doctorate from Southern Cross University in Australia

-Honorary Doctorate in chemistry and pharmacy from the Univ. of Munster in Germany

Since his forced exile in 1954, the Dalai Lama has worked for an end to human rights abuses in Tibet. He supports autonomy for Tibet within Chinese sovereignty in accordance with the constitution of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese government fears the Dalai Lama will split China apart by eventually seeking independence from China. As a result, the Chinese government has never directly met with the Dalia Lama or made any concessions. The Dalai Lama has appealed to the United Nations, which resulted in three resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in 1959, 1961, and 1965. The resolutions required China to respect the human rights of Tibetans and their desire to self determination.

At the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1987 in Washington D.C. , the Dalai Lama proposed a Five-Point Peace plan regarding the future status of Tibet. The plan called for Tibet to become a "zone of peace" It also called for "respect for fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms" and "the end of China's use of Tibet for nuclear weapons production, testing, and disposal." Finally, it urged "earnest negotiations" on the future of Tibet.

The political problem for China is that the international community is well aware of China's dismal ongoing human rights record in Tibet. Under the Chinese occupation, the Tibetan people are denied the rights to self-determination, freedom of speech, assembly, movement, expression and travel. China's consistent use of excessive military force to stifle dissent has resulted in widespread human rights abuses including arbitrary arrests, political imprisonment, torture, and execution. Human rights groups have documented at least 60 deaths of peaceful demonstrators since 1987 and the imprisonment of thousands for political reasons. Many people are detained without charge or trial for up to four years through administrative regulations entitled "re-education through labor".

In recent years, the Dalai Lama has had indirect talks with China through designated representatives in six rounds of discussions through the Sino-Tibetan dialogue. The latest round of talks concluded in July 2007, again without Chinese concessions.

The free world gives him awards. China relentlessly undermines and ignores him. For his part, the Dalai Lama continues his more than fifty year crusade for the people of Tibet.

China hosts the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. This year's Olympic slogan is "One World, One Dream". The Olympic slogan will represent only empty words as long as China continues to ignore Tenzin Gyatso. He is the fourteenth Dalai Lama, a remarkable man who has dedicated more than fifty years of his life in exile for the people of his country of Tibet and as a spokesman for world peace.

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