Obama’s looming Dalai Lama meeting, Taiwan weapons sale could sour ties

msnbc.com
January 3, 2010

WASHINGTON – The United States and China are headed for a rough patch in the early months of the new year as the White House appears set to sell a package of weapons to Taiwan and as President Obama plans to meet the Dalai Lama, U.S. officials and analysts said.

The Obama administration is expected to approve the sale of several billion dollars in Black Hawk helicopters and anti-missile batteries to Taiwan early this year, possibly accompanied by a plan gauging design and manufacturing capacity for diesel-powered submarines for the island, which China claims as its territory. The president is also preparing to meet the spiritual leader of Tibet, who is considered a separatist by Beijing. Obama made headlines last year when the White House, in an effort to generate goodwill from China, declined to meet the Dalai Lama, marking the first time in more than a decade that a U.S. president did not meet the religious leader during his occasional visits to Washington.

The expected downturn with Beijing comes despite a concerted effort by the Obama administration for closer ties. U.S. officials have held more high-level meetings with their Chinese counterparts — including a summit in Beijing in November — in the first year of this administration compared with the inaugural years of the four previous presidencies since relations were normalized with Beijing in 1979, records show.     more …

Low turnout shows democracy is overshadowed by economic issue

Associated Press
2010-01-02

Thousands of Hong Kong residents marched to the Chinese government’s liaison office yesterday demanding that Beijing grant full democracy to the semiautonomous financial hub.

Chanting “One man, one vote to choose our leader” and clutching signs reading “Democracy now,” the demonstrators set off from a crowded street in the heart of the Central financial district.

However, the relatively low turnout for the New Year’s Day protest – police said some 4,600 people took part – showed that Hong Kong’s political opposition faces an uphill battle as it tries to re-ignite the local democracy movement, which has been overshadowed by economic issues. Five pro-democracy legislators plan to resign later this month, hoping to turn the special elections they will trigger into a referendum on democracy.    more …