Beijing Plans More Talks With The Dalai Lama
China's central government will arrange a third round of talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, Chinese officials said, despite recent comments that suggest the exiled Tibetan leader has given up on achieving a breakthrough.
The meeting would be arranged 'in the near future,' China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported an official saying, though no details were given. The government hopes the Dalai Lama's delegation would 'treasure this opportunity and make a positive response to the requirements set forth by central authorities,' the official said, according to Xinhua.
The report comes after the Dalai Lama said over the weekend that he has given up on efforts to persuade Beijing to allow greater autonomy for Tibet. 'There hasn't been any positive response from the Chinese side,' he said in comments reported by the Associated Press.
Calls to the spokesman of the Tibetan government in exile on Wednesday weren't answered, but the exiled government's speaker, Karma Choephal, said that the Dalai Lama has called a special meeting of representatives from all Tibetan exile groups in mid-November, the AP reported Tuesday.
Two earlier rounds of talks between the Dalai Lama's envoys and Chinese officials were held in May and July. According to Xinhua, the last meeting in July ended in an agreement by the Dalai Lama's representative not to support violent criminal plots or activities that would disturb the Beijing Olympics, and to concretely curb activities of the Tibetan Youth Congress, an organization of Tibetan exiles that takes a more extreme stance than the Dalai Lama and favors outright independence.
Chinese officials have repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama of leading violent antigovernment protests in March in an effort to split the country, charges that he has denied. Many Tibetans say they face limits on their religious practices and freedom of expression.
In recent months, the Dalai Lama has met with a number of political leaders abroad. During the Beijing Olympics in August, the Dalai Lama visited the French Senate and said the Chinese government was still engaging in a brutal crackdown in Tibet, including arbitrary arrests, summary executions and lethal torture.
In April, he spoke with Sen. Barack Obama by phone, and then met with Sen. John McCain in Aspen, Colo., in July, after which the Republican presidential candidate harshly criticized China during a foreign-policy debate and said its leaders should show more progress in addressing political grievances. U.S. President George W. Bush has urged Chinese President Hu Jintao to invite the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet, which remains one of the poorest parts of China.
Since 2002, there have been seven rounds of talks between the two sides aimed at resolving differences, but officials of Tibet's government in exile have said that China has been unwilling to compromise.
On Tuesday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the central government has adhered to consistent, explicit policies toward the Dalai Lama, and has a sincere attitude in communicating with him, according to Xinhua. 'We hope by contacts with the central government, the Dalai Lama can recognize the existing situation, exert tangible sincerity and action, and do good for the Tibetan people in his lifetime,' Ms. Jiang said. |
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