One person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter. To the Chinese, HHDL is a terrorist; to the rest of the world, he is a freedom fighter. To the British, George Washington was a terrorist; to Americans, he was a freedom fighter. To many people in the world, bin Laden is a terrorist; to many others, he is a freedom fighter. The Chinese authorities are so immersed in their own fear and power that they can't see beyond it ... just as American leaders can't see beyond their own fear and power to thoughtfully examine the factors that caused people to hate America so much that they would perpetrate 9/11.
--Gene-o
<mailto:eugene_downs@hotmail.com>

Your point -- as always -- is a good one. My additional observation is that His Holiness is a man of peace who rejects violence under any circumstances. For the authorities to associate him with "terrorists" becomes that much more repugnant. Che Guevera ... George Washington ... Joan of Arc ... have been misread and mislabeled according to politics. Jesus, however, stands out as another man of peace wrongly labeled and executed. -- MB

Exactly ... Chinese leaders are no different from American leaders in villianizing those who threaten their power, their perceived moral authority, the comfy status quo. In this case, Beijing has overreached, and surely even their own people must see how ridiculous are their claims about the HHDL. The citizens of China can't be such sheep that they blindly believe everything their government says, right?
--Gene-o
<mailto:eugene_downs@hotmail.com>