Free Tibet! (or at least meet with the Dalai Lama)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Shame on you, Mr. President.

Why do you continue to reduce human rights to a virtual irrelevance in your foreign policy?

Why do you continue to give your tacit support to China's brutal totalitarian dictatorship? Why do you continue to give in to China's demands, no matter what?

Why do you refuse to meet with the Dalai Lama, one of the greatest and most courageous men of our time?

Is it all about appeasing Beijing? Is it all about dollars and cents? Tell that to the Tibetan people, and to the rest of China's countless victims.

I get realism, I really do. I understand the need to maintain open and strong relations with China. But -- at what cost? At what human cost? At what moral cost?

You don't have to be like your predecessor to stand up for democracy and freedom, for civil and human rights. Surely you can find a way to maintain good relations with China while also expressing your support for Tibet -- and for its leader.

It's time to take a stand. A few carefully worded criticisms now and then aren't enough, and appeasement is no longer an acceptable option.

It won't make China happy, but you should meet with the Dalai Lama, world leader to world leader, and show your commitment to change.