China Says It Opposes Obama Meeting With Dalai LamaChina warned President Obama this week not to meet the Dalai Lama, saying any such meeting would harm bilateral relations.
An Obama meeting with the Dalai Lama would "seriously undermine the political foundation of Sino-U.S. relations," said Zhu Weiqun, executive deputy head of the Communist Party's United Front Work Department in charge of recent talks with the exiled Tibetan leader's envoys. Zhu was speaking at a news conference where he said no progress had been made at the talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama on changes to the Himalayan region's status.
The warning to Obama comes after signals from U.S. officials in recent weeks that Obama might soon meet the exiled Tibetan leader - something Chinese officials are keen to avoid before President Hu Jintao travels to Washington, possibly in April.
Zhu said any arguments that the Dalai Lama was just a religious figure were wrong, calling the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate the "head of a separatist group."
No date for Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama has been announced, but White House spokesman Mike Hammer said last month that "the President has made clear to the Chinese government that we intend to meet with the Dalai Lama, it has been his every intention."
Bilateral relations have already been strained by the U.S. announcement Friday that it planned to sell $6.4 billion worth of arms to Taiwan. Beijing quickly suspended military exchanges with Washington and announced an unprecedented threat of sanctions against the U.S. companies involved in the sale. Zhu did not give any details on what China would do if Obama meets the Dalai Lama. "We will take corresponding measures to make the relevant countries realize their mistakes."
Representatives of the United Front meet over the weekend with two Tibetan envoys for their first talks in 15 months, but Zhu said China would discuss only the future of the exiled spiritual leader - not any greater autonomy for Tibet. China maintains that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history.
At the last talks in 2008, the Dalai Lama's envoys proposed a way for Tibetans to achieve more autonomy under the Chinese constitution - a key demand of the minority community. But China apparently rejected the plan, saying it would not allow Tibet the kind of latitude granted to the territories of Hong Kong and Macau. Chinese officials said they were only willing to discuss the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in 1959.
The Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharmsala, India, said last week it hoped the two sides would be able to revisit the proposal for greater autonomy. Beijing demonizes the Dalai Lama and says he seeks to destroy China's sovereignty by pushing independence for Tibet. The Dalai Lama has maintained for decades he wants some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion under China's rule, not independence.
Tibetan areas have been tense in recent years, with the minority community complaining about restrictions on Buddhism, government propaganda campaigns against their revered Dalai Lama, and an influx of Chinese migrants that leave Tibetans feeling marginalized. Those feelings boiled over in deadly anti-Chinese riots in 2008 that shocked Beijing's leaders.
A poor growing season last year and increased orders from Europe could make it difficult for home gardeners to get seeds for the most popular cucumber variety and some vegetables this spring. Farmers, who usually grow different varieties than home gardeners, aren't likely to be affected.
Seeds for what's known as open-pollinated cucumbers seem to be most scarce, but carrots, snap peas and onions also could be in short supply.
"I suspect there will be some seeds you just won't be able to buy if you wait too long on it," said Bill Hart, the wholesale manager in charge of seed purchasing at Chas. C. Hart Seed Company in Wethersfield, Conn. "The sugar snap peas we're not able to get at all, and other companies that have it will sell out pretty quickly."
The problem is primarily due to soggy weather last year that resulted in a disappointing seed crop. European seed growers also had a bad year, leading to a big increase in orders for American seeds.
Demand for seeds in the U.S. soared last year, as the poor economy and worries about chemical use and bacteria contamination prompted many people to establish gardens. Homegrown food seemed safer and more affordable. But some wonder if the wet weather that ruined gardens in many areas last summer will discourage first-time gardeners from planting again.
"A lot of people are getting into it, but it was a disastrous year for gardens last year because it was so cold and wet," said wholesale seed distributor Mel Brekke, who owns Brekke's Town and Country near Ames, Iowa.
Kathy Gocke of Bondurant, Iowa, said she orders seeds early for herself and her county's master gardener's program and advises others to do the same.
"If you do it before the first of January, they have a pretty good stock," Gocke said.
Burpee Seeds in Warminster, Pa., bills itself as the largest provider of home garden seeds, and Chief Executive Officer George Ball said the company's huge reserves mean it will have plenty of seeds. But Ball said he understands why others might have limited supplies after a big spike in demand in the past two years.
"It was unlike anything I've seen in the past 30 years," he said.
Barbara Melera, owner of D. Landreth Seeds of New Freedom, Pa., expects carrot seeds to be especially hard to find because of big orders from Europe, which had a poor crop last year. Also, fewer farmers are opting to grow seeds, she said. Many now have switched to growing corn for the biofuels industry.
"In this country, farmers who grow things for seed are becoming an endangered species," Melera said. "The farms producing things for seeds is reduced significantly, and in the past two to three years they can get more money for growing corn for ethanol plants than carrots for seeds."
Jennifer Nothwehr, seed coordinator for the Shenandoah, Iowa-based Earl May seed and nursery business, said she hasn't run into shortages, but her company typically orders its seeds from wholesalers a year in advance. They received and packaged the seeds they'll sell this year last fall, and because they set prices last spring, any shortage won't affect them.
Nothwehr also said that while popular varieties, like one known as the straight eight cucumber, may be hard to find, others are available.
"One of the most popular carrots we can't get, but we have four other varieties we can get if a customer wants to try something different," she said.
Hart said his family business has a small retail operation, and he's noticed people coming in earlier than usual this year, possibly because of worries over a shortage of seeds.
Sources: Georgia Agri News; The AP, Wall Street Journal
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