By Frank Ching, The Korean Times / Opinion

With the issue of Taiwan's independence having subsided, China is turning its attention to the question of Tibet, using its newly acquired power, soft and hard, to impress upon all countries that if they want good relations with Beijing, they will have to give up support of the Dalai Lama.

China's determination to get its way was illustrated by its decision to cancel a summit meeting in December with the European Union because of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to meet the exiled Tibetan leader.

One sign of China's success was the decision by South Africa to bar the Dalai Lama, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, from taking part in a peace conference. China knows it is unlikely that any country in Asia, Africa or Latin America will stand in its way. Its focus is on the West.

In March, the U.S. Congress, to mark the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising, voted 422 to 1 to adopt a resolution calling on Beijing to end ``repression" in Tibet.

At the same time, the European Parliament passed a resolution urging dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government.

China clearly feels that the tide is turning. The successful Olympic Games last summer was a demonstration of the country's greatly enhanced soft power while its dispatching of a naval task force to the Somali coast and of patrol vessels to the South China Sea are signs of its increasing hard power.

Beijing's demands for reform of the international financial system ahead of the G20 meeting in London are another reflection of its new-found influence amid the global economic crisis, which it clearly sees as an opportunity.

Beijing is emphasizing that the Tibet issue is one that involves its core national interest.

It is warning all countries that, if they want good relations with China, then they must toe the line and accept the Chinese position that Tibet is a part of China and that the crushing of the Tibetan uprising 50 years ago was a move to liberate Tibet from feudalism.

In January, Beijing designated March 28 ? the day 50 years ago when it dissolved the Tibetan government ? as Serf Liberation Day, when Tibetans should celebrate rather than mourn the departure of the Dalai Lama.

A recent article in the People's Daily, the official party and government newspaper, which also appeared in the English-language China Daily, states unequivocally what it expects Western countries to do.

Under the headline "Wrong stance on Tibet hinders ties with China," it asserts that "Western nations should recognize that Tibet is an inalienable part of China and stop intervening if they want to remain on good terms with China."

Relations between China and the rest of the world have experienced a historic transition," it declared.

"China's development is now tied to the world's, while the rest of the world also needs greater cooperation with China. It is impossible for any Western country not to interact with China. However, it is impossible for the West to cooperate with China unless it develops an objective and unbiased stance on Tibet."

From China's perspective, Westerners don't really know what is going on in Tibet, which is why Beijing recently sent a delegation of Tibetan members of the National People's Congress to the United States. These delegates met with congressmen as well as state and city council members in New York.

However, if China really wants to convince the West of the rightness of its actions, it should lift the military lockdown that it has imposed on Tibet and Tibetan-inhabited areas. If people are not allowed to see what the actual situation is, it will be difficult to convince them.

China certainly has a much stronger hand now than 30 years ago, when it embarked on a determined drive for wealth and power. However, as it acknowledges, the current situation is not one where the West is dependent on China, but where the two are interdependent.

Thus, while the West will need to be circumspect when dealing with the politically sensitive issue of Tibet, China will need to take Western values into consideration when taking actions that may be seen as contrary to universal values, and, in particular, the way it treats its ethnic minorities and its political dissidents.

During this time of global crisis, it is imperative that China and the United States should cooperate. Now is not the time for ultimatums. It is a time for tolerance and understanding and for putting aside differences.

*Frank Ching is a journalist and commentator in Hong Kong. He can be reached at Frank.ching@gmail.com.