Wednesday, September 30, 2009

India rejects Chinese protest at Dalai Lama trip

By Matthias Williams
NEW DELHI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - India's foreign minister said on Wednesday China should not object to the Dalai Lama's planned trip to a northeast Indian state, part of which Beijing claims in a festering border dispute between the two Asian powers.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, whom the Chinese government reviles as a "splittist", announced a visit to Arunachal Pradesh state for the second week of November, after a controversial stay in self-ruled Taiwan earlier in September.
India and China fought a brief war, partly over Arunachal Pradesh, in 1962. Though bilateral trade is flourishing between the emerging giants, there has been a rise in border tension, and the Dalai Lama's visit could add to the strains.
"The Dalai Lama is a spiritual leader and can travel wherever he wants within India as long as he does not make political statements," Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told NDTV news channel.
Arunachal Pradesh was the subject of a row between the world's two most populous nations earlier this year when China objected to a $60 million Asia Development Bank loan for a project in the state. Indian media have reported numerous incursions by Chinese soldiers along the disputed border.
But Krishna said "there is no increased activity along the LAC with China", referring to the de facto border known as the "Line of Actual Control" -- the 1962 ceasefire line, which both countries dispute.
China, which accuses the Dalai Lama of wanting independence for Tibet, has already spoken out against his trip to Arunachal Pradesh, saying it was further proof of his separatist bent.
The Dalai Lama, who denies wanting independence but has for decades called for greater autonomy and cultural and religious freedom for Tibet, has lived in northern India since fleeing Tibet during a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
His aides said the aim of the trip was to teach and had nothing to do with politics.
Earlier in September, the Dalai Lama visited the island of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province. China denounced the trip and said it could sabotage fast-improving relations.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

ayor will 'white hat' Dalai Lama

Last Updated: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 | 4:29 PM MT 

The Dalai Lama will be in Calgary for a two-day visit to speak at a University of Calgary conference and attend a public reception at the Pengrowth Saddledome. The Dalai Lama will be in Calgary for a two-day visit to speak at a University of Calgary conference and attend a public reception at the Pengrowth Saddledome. (CBC)
Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier will give the Dalai Lama the city's iconic white cowboy hat Wednesday, a move the city's Tibetan community said will right a nearly 30-year-old wrong.
The Dalai Lama will be in Calgary for a two-day visit to speak at a University of Calgary conference called NOW, which includes a public address at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
The Dalai Lama was last in Calgary in 1980, when the city fathers declined to present him with a white hat, saying he wasn't an official dignitary. Calgary's Tibetan community was further annoyed when former mayor Al Duerr presented then-president Jiang Zemin of China with a white hat in 1997.
On Wednesday morning, Bronconnier will present the cowboy hat to the Dalai Lama at the airport.
Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne receive their white hats from Elizabeth Wesley, right, manager of hospitality relations, at the Calgary airport in 2008.Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne receive their white hats from Elizabeth Wesley, right, manager of hospitality relations, at the Calgary airport in 2008. (CBC)
Tashi Phuntsok, president of the Tibetan Community of Alberta, said it's about time a Calgary mayor "white-hatted" the Buddhist leader.
"He has already received the Nobel Peace Prize and he has already received a [U.S.] Congressional gold medal and he has already become an honorary citizen of Canada. And Canadians, the majority of the public, want him to be respected by our mayor in this way," he said.
Lynn Chazotsang, who is on the Dalai Lama welcoming committee, said a white hat shouldn't be a political issue.
"Whether you give him hat or no hat, it doesn't matter. He would feel the same love and compassion for everyone and he would not feel insulted," she said.
Also Wednesday, Bronconnier will present a white hat to a former president of South Africa, F.W. de Klerk, who is also in Calgary for the conference.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Dalai Lama gives $50,000 to education program

Associated Press
12:19 p.m. Monday, September 28, 2009

The Dalai Lama has announced a gift of $50,000 to the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, a project to develop a science education curriculum for Tibetan monastics.
Under a five-year pilot program, Emory faculty members travel to Dharamsala, India, each summer to teach a 10-week western science curriculum to more than 100 monks and nuns.
The Emory scholars have worked with Tibetan Buddhist scholars to produce science textbooks printed in English and Tibetan.
The Dalai Lama makes periodic visits to Emory to participate in programs, most recently in 2007 when he delivered his inaugural lecture as the university's Presidential Distinguished Professor. He is due to return to Emory next year.
Emory has established a fellowship in the Dalai Lama's name to fund annual scholarships for Tibetan students at the university.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Rep. Maloney’s Husband Dies on Tibet Trek


The husband of Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of New York died after scaling a mountain peak during an expedition in Tibet, Ms. Maloney’s office announced on Saturday.
Trudy L. Mason
Carolyn and Clifton Maloney
Her husband, Clifton H. W. Maloney, 71, had returned safely to a high-altitude base camp after reaching the summit of the 27,000-foot Himalayan peak Cho Oyu, according to a statement from George Arzt, a family friend. Mr. Maloney said he was “the happiest man in the world,” went to sleep and never woke up, the statement said.
The cause of death had not been determined, but an autopsy was expected to be conducted when Mr. Maloney’s body was brought back to the United States, Mr. Arzt said.
On Saturday night, the American Embassy in Katmandu, Nepal, was working out the logistics of retrieving Mr. Maloney’s body from the mountain, a State Department spokesman said.
The statement described Mr. Maloney as an avid climber, sailor and runner who had finished the New York City Marathon 20 times. He was a vice president at Goldman Sachs before starting his own investment firm, C. H. W. Maloney & Company, in 1981. He also served as treasurer of Ms. Maloney’s campaign committee, according to federal election records.
Ms. Maloney learned of her husband’s death early Saturday morning, according to her office. The couple married in 1976 and have two daughters.
Ms. Maloney, a Democrat who represents the East Side of Manhattan and part of Queens,dropped out of the race for the United States Senate this summer, saying she would not challenge Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in a Democratic primary.
She was first elected to Congress in 1992, in an upset victory over Bill Green, the Republican incumbent. She was on the City Council for years before that.
M. Amedeo Tumolillo contributed reporting.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Dalai Lama: King assassination site sad, inspiring

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Dalai Lama says his visit to the site where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated was sad but also inspirational.

The Tibetan spiritual leader was in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday to receive the International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, which incorporates the site of the Lorraine Motel.
The Dalai Lama draped a white shawl over a wreath that hangs over the balcony that marks the spot where King was standing when he was shot in 1968.
He toured the museum with the Rev. Samuel Kyles, who was with King when he was gunned down, and Museum Board Chairman Benjamin L. Hooks.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Dalai Lama has been welcomed to Memphis with a fist bump and the greeting "hello Dalai."
It happened as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader met interim Memphis Mayor Myron Lowery on Tuesday.
WPTY-TV reported the Dalai Lama appeared confused by the fist gesture until Lowery took his hand and showed him how to return it. Lowery then said he had always wanted to say "hello Dalai," a reference to the 1960s Broadway musical and movie "Hello Dolly."
The station reported the holy man appeared amused by both the gesture and the joke.
The Dalai Lama is in Memphis to receive the International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum on Wednesday.
Information from: WPTY-TV, http://www.abc24.com/
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

China shuts Tibet to foreigners before anniversary

By HENRY SANDERSON (AP) – 23 hours ago

BEIJING — China has closed Tibet to foreign tourists and deployed soldiers armed with machine guns in the streets of Beijing — part of a raft of stringent security measures ahead of the 60th anniversary of communist rule. Even kite-flying has been banned in the capital.
Although the Oct. 1 commemorations, including a massive military review and speech by President Hu Jintao, are centered on Beijing, the clampdown extends to the farthest reaches of the sprawling nation.
Online, blocks on sensitive political content and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have been expanded, and there has been a spike in e-mail spam containing spyware sent to foreign journalists. Communist officials across the country have been told to prevent travel to Beijing by petitioners seeking redress from central authorities and to try to resolve their complaints locally.
Security in the capital is as tight and in some ways even tighter than during last year's Beijing Olympic Games, with submachine gun-toting SWAT units mixing among the crowds in a city center festooned with national flags and colorful dioramas.
Residents have been barred from flying kites as a precaution against aerial hazards, and those who live in the diplomatic apartments that line the parade route have been told not open their windows or go out on their balconies to watch. Knife sales have been restricted, and notices in apartment lobbies urge residents to report anything suspicious.
The National Day celebration follows the most violent and sustained unrest against Chinese rule in decades in its far western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet. Ethnic rioting in Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi killed nearly 200 people in July and the Turkic Muslim region remains on edge over a recent string of mysterious needle attacks in public places.
As in the wake of rioting in March 2008, foreign tourists have been banned from Tibet, according to local officials and people working in the travel industry. The March 14, 2008, riot in Lhasa target Chinese shops and migrants who have moved to the Himalayan region in increasing numbers since communist troops entered in 1950.
Su Tingrui, a salesman with Tibet China Travel Service, said that the company's general manager was called to a meeting Sunday night by authorities in Tibet's capital of Lhasa — 2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers) from Beijing. He said the ban was not issued in writing but conveyed during the meeting and will extend to Oct. 8.
Other agents in Beijing and Lhasa said that the government had stopped giving out special permits needed to visit the region to foreigners.
"For October, business will be noticeably affected," said a receptionist surnamed Wang with the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Lhasa. The suspension of permits "is probably part of the extra security arrangements. You are beginning to see a larger number of police and military troops in the streets this month, and police and military at intersections where there used to be nobody guarding."
Security in Tibet was intensified in the weeks leading up to the Beijing Olympics last year and then again this past February and March around sensitive political anniversaries. Those in the industry said Tibetan tourism took a further knock after the Xinjiang rioting, which has also left Urumqi hotels virtually empty.
"To tourists there's no difference whether the July rioting was in Xinjiang or Tibet. They think it's dangerous to come down here," said Zhang, a staffer at the Tibet Hongshan International Travel Agency, based in Lhasa.
Tan Lin, an official with the business administration office at the Tourism Bureau of Tibet, said foreign tourists would be banned from Tuesday onwards, but those who have already arrived would be allowed to stay.
Hu Shisheng, head of the South Asia office at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the ban was motivated by government fears that overseas pro-Tibet groups could use sympathetic students or tourists to stage protests — as occurred in Beijing during the Olympics. China says the violence in Tibet and Xinjiang was masterminded by such groups, although authorities have provided little evidence.
The security measures in Beijing and elsewhere may seem like overkill to some, Joseph Cheng, a professor at the City University of Hong Kong, said. But Chinese officials believe they are worth it to prevent even the smallest incidents while presenting an impression of a strong, stable nation.
"In the last one or two years in the preparation for the Olympics there has been a tremendous emphasis on showing the best face of China," Cheng said.
He added that local government and public security officials are told: "We want no incidents, so if anything happens, you are in trouble."
Associated Press researcher Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Dalai Lama starts US tour with fist-bump

MEMPHIS, Tennessee — Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Tuesday started a more than two-week visit to North America by learning a contemporary gesture -- the fist-bump.

The Dalai Lama traveled to the southern US city to be honored at the National Civil Rights Museum, located in the motel where rights champion Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
The 74-year-old monk, wearing his trademark maroon robes, smiled broadly as the city's interim mayor, Myron Lowery, extended his fist to greet him in a welcoming ceremony at a riverside park.
"Here we also have a tradition -- you ball your first like this," Lowery said as he taught the Tibetan spiritual leader to fist-bump and laughter broke out among the local dignitaries nearby.
"They say you've got a sense of humor. I've always wanted to say, 'Hello Dalai,'" Lowery added, playing on the name of the popular musical "Hello Dolly."
However, the Dalai Lama later voiced discomfort with the fist-bump, saying the greeting invoked thoughts of violence, according to local CBS television affiliate WREG.
The Dalai Lama is set to travel across the United States and Canada until mid-October, holding a series of talks on spirituality but not meeting perhaps the world's best-known fist-bumper, President Barack Obama.
Obama during his presidential campaign last year greeted his wife Michelle with a fist-bump after a televised address, earning the derision of some conservative commentators.
Obama earlier this month sent a delegation to the Dalai Lama's home-in-exile in northern India who voiced support for the Tibetan leader but agreed that the US leader would not see him when he stops in Washington in October.
China, which sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and clamped down on protests last year, strenuously opposes international meetings of the Dalai Lama. It accuses him of being a "splittist," although the Dalai Lama says he is seeking greater rights for Tibetans under Chinese rule.
The Dalai Lama's office said Obama would meet him after he pays his first presidential visit to China in November.
Obama, who has called for a broad relationship between Washington and Beijing, was also meeting Tuesday with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Obama to Meet With Dalai Lama After China Visit

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama will meet with the Dalai Lama after the president’s first visit to China in November, a White House official said.

The Tibetan spiritual leader will not meet with Obama during his trip to Washington in October, White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The Dalai Lama is “looking forward to visiting the president after the president’s trip to China,” she said.
China has criticized states that allow visits by the Dalai Lama, viewed by the government in Beijing as a separatist leader who wants to divide the country. Last month China reiterated its “resolute opposition” to his visit to Taiwan for five days this month, saying it was “bound to have a negative influence” on relations between the two governments, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said Aug. 31.
Earlier this week, Jarrett met with the Dalai Lama at his headquarters in Dharamshala, India, to brief him about the administration’s approach to Tibet.
Jarrett said in a statement she emphasized Obama’s commitment to supporting the Tibetan people and securing their human and civil rights. She also said Obama commended the Dalai Lama for looking for a solution based on autonomy within China.
The Dalai Lama expressed the hope the Tibetans may see progress in the resolution of their differences with China during Obama’s presidency, according to the statement.
“We firmly oppose any foreign forces interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Tibet-related issues,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters on Sept. 15. “The U.S. side is well aware of our position on this issue.”
Every president since George H.W. Bush has sat down with the Dalai Lama, frequently prompting criticism from the Chinese government. Obama met him when he was still a U.S. senator, though he cited a scheduling conflict during the presidential campaign for not meeting him last year.
Former President George W. Bush gave the Dalai Lama the Congressional Medal of Freedom in October 2007.

To contact the reporter on this story: Hans Nichols in Washington at hnichols2@bloomberg.netJohn McCormick in Washington at jmccormick16@bloomberg.net

Friday, September 18, 2009

The Dalai Lama applauds President Obama's use of cooperation, outreach, and dialogue


Following a visit by President Obama's emissary Valerie Jarrett and State Dept. Under Secretary Maria Otero on Monday, the Dalai Lama applauded the president's use of cooperation, outreach, and dialogue. He encouraged him to continue to approach today's issues in that manner. He also expressed his appreciation for the president's concern for Tibetan issues, as well as his hopefulness that the conflict between Tibet and China will improve during President Obama's term.

Ms. Jarrett met with the Dalai Lama to brief him on our administration's intent regarding the struggle between China and Tibet. President Obama will be visiting China in mid-November. Please see http://www.angelfire.com/ca/pumpkingurl/ for a history of the conflict between Tibet and China.

The Dalai Lama travels extensively to teach compassion, forgiveness, kindness, and humanity. He also speaks about what he calls "universal responsibility"; which means having compassion for those who suffer on a global level and being willing to contribute to their relief. He is loved by many and highly respected for his principles.

President Obama is constantly ridiculed for his humanitarian approach. Conservatives keep pushing the panic button saying that we just can't operate that way. Fear of impending doom is being promoted and the seeds are planted and growing. People have a tendency to cling to the familiar; even if it is harmful. The tactics of those who oppose are working.

Fighting the president's every move is counterproductive if you want to change the long standing problems that we have in this country. The nation's problems have continued to grow as we have stubbornly continued to do the same things the same way. Nothing is going to change now, if we don't. It's time to accept and embrace change, starting with supporting a different kind of president with a different way of accomplishing goals.

Perhaps we should listen to the Dalai Lama; and to President Obama. Perhaps it is time to institute true universal responsibility and start treating all other human beings as our brothers and sisters and be willing to work together for the benefit of everyone.

Perhaps we should also begin to view and appreciate President Obama's efforts the way the Dalai Lama does and allow ourselves to have some of the same hope he expresses. He just might be right.

For more information on the meeting on the 14th please see: http://www.dalailama.com/news.432.htm

Thursday, September 17, 2009

China tourists boycott Taiwan city over Dalai Lama

Source: APF

TAIPEI — China has told tour groups to call off planned trips to a south Taiwan city following a controversial visit there by the Dalai Lama, local media said Thursday.


Hotels in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, have received thousands of Chinese cancellations since early this month, the Taipei-based China Times reported.

This follows instructions from Chinese authorities to mainland tour groups to temporarily stay away from the city, according to the paper, which cited hotels in the area.

At least 200 reservations for October have also been called off, and booking is scarce for China's October 1 National Day holiday, it added.

The paper quoted unnamed tourism operators as saying the Dalai Lama's visit to Kaohsiung was the main reason for the cancellations, causing an estimated six million Taiwan dollars (185,000 US dollars) in lost revenue.

The city's hotel association, now focused on damage control, plans to ask the Kaohsiung city government to remove a film on Rebiya Kadeer, the exiled leader of China's Uighur minority, from an upcoming film festival, it said.

The Dalai Lama was invited by officials from the island's pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party, including Kaohsiung's mayor, to comfort victims of Typhoon Morakot.

The Tibetan monk said repeatedly his visit was "non-political," but China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, voiced anger and cancelled several delegations to the island.

Beijing also voiced concerns over Kaohsiung film festival's plan to show "Ten Conditions of Love" on Kadeer, whom it blasts as a "criminal" inciting unrest in Xinjiang, a region in northwest China where most Uighurs live.

"We do not wish to see anything that disrupts the peaceful development in cross-strait ties happen again," Yang Yi, China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a briefing.

Organisers have said they selected the film for "purely artistic" reasons and that they were not planning to invite Kadeer to Taiwan for the screening next month.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Shunning Tibet


Associated Press
The Obama Administration may think its decision to cold shoulder the Dalai Lama on the Tibetan leader's upcoming trip to Washington is smart politics. But if the leader of the free world doesn't stand up for religious freedom, who will?


The news broke earlier this week when an Obama aide told the Tibetans that the President wants to meet Chinese leaders before he meets the Dalai Lama. This is par for the course for an Administration that gave only lackluster support to Iran's democrats and has made conciliatory overtures to Putin's Russia and Kim Jong Il's North Korea.

But it's still a big departure from a significant and important tradition: President George Bush met the Dalai Lama every time the monk visited Washington; as did President Bill Clinton. The Tibetans hadn't formally scheduled a meeting with President Obama for next month, but the Dalai Lama had expressed his hope to meet the President on the trip.

Mr. Obama may be trying to smooth the waters after raising tariffs on Chinese tire imports Friday. Or he may think that a Tibet snub will buy him concessions from China when he visits Beijing in November. Or he may be simply caving to Chinese pressure not to have the meeting. China has bullied Australia, Germany, Canada and France in recent years for welcoming the man they label a "splittist."

By delaying his meeting with the Dalai Lama, Mr. Obama is only rewarding that choleric behavior and giving Beijing more leeway to protest whenever he does work up the nerve to meet the Dalai Lama. It also sends a message to other democracies that it's acceptable to cave to Chinese pressure.

Also missing from this picture is any understanding of why the Dalai Lama's cause is so important to both Chinese and U.S. interests. The Dalai Lama advocates the same human freedoms on which the U.S. was founded: Democracy and the right to exercise basic civil liberties, including freedom of worship. China won't be a stable and prosperous country until it respects these freedoms. And a peaceful China is in everyone's interests.
President Obama has been in office nearly eight months; that's twice as long as it took for Messrs. Bush Clinton to meet the Dalai Lama. The Tibetans certainly understand what's going on: Prime Minister Samdhong Rinpoche said Tuesday that "a lot of nations are adopting a policy of appeasement" toward China "even the U.S. government." This is change we can believe in?




Tuesday, September 15, 2009

China opposes US officials meeting Dalai Lama

By GILLIAN WONG (AP) – 12 hours ago


BEIJING — China criticized a meeting between aides of President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, saying Tuesday it opposed any such engagements with the Tibetan spiritual leader, but stopping short of threatening a response.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Beijing firmly opposed any foreign officials meeting with the Dalai Lama, whom China claims is intent on seizing independence for the Chinese region of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has said he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibetans.

Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to Obama, met Sunday and Monday with the Tibetan spiritual leader in Dharmsala, India, ahead of his planned visit to the United States early next month. Jarrett, who was accompanied by Maria Otero, the U.S. State Department undersecretary for democracy and global affairs, was on a private visit, the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi said.

The Dalai Lama has previously said he would like to meet Obama when he visits Washington in October, as he has every president since George H.W. Bush. But on Monday he said he was looking forward to meeting the president after Obama visits China, which will be in November.

Asked if Beijing had made any formal representations to Washington regarding the Dalai Lama's wish to meet the American leader, Jiang said only that "the U.S. side is very clear about China's position."

"We oppose Dalai's engagement in separatist activities in any country under whatever capacity and in whatever name and we oppose other countries' officials meeting with Dalai in any form," Jiang said at a regular press briefing.

China canceled a major summit with the European Union last year because French President Nicolas Sarkozy met the spiritual leader.

A White House visit for the Dalai Lama would be seen as a powerful message of support to Tibetans struggling for their rights, but it could put Washington in an awkward position.

The United States is seeking Chinese cooperation on several fronts, including global economic recovery efforts and the nuclear standoffs in North Korea and Iran. Its emphasis on economic and diplomatic ties with China has prompted criticism that the Obama administration is reluctant to confront China on sensitive human rights and trade issues.

China says Tibet has been part of its territory for four centuries. It has governed the Himalayan region with an iron first since communist troops took control there in 1951. Many Tibetans claim they were effectively independent for most of their history and say Chinese rule and economic exploitation are eroding their traditional Buddhist culture.

The Dalai Lama fled to India during a 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule and travels the world promoting the Tibetan cause. He advocates some form of autonomy that would allow Tibetans to freely practice their culture, language and religion.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Monday, September 14, 2009

White House Adviser Visits With Dalai Lama in India

BEIJING — A senior adviser to President Obama met the Dalai Lama on Monday in Dharamsala, in northern India, and discussed the exiled spiritual leader’s views on how to preserve Tibetan identity, a White House spokesman said.

Times Topics: Dalai LamaThe adviser, Valerie Jarrett, “conveyed the president’s respect” and heard the Dalai Lama’s “commitment to dialogue with the Chinese government, and that he does not seek independence but rather sees Tibet’s future as a part of China,” Mike Hammer, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in an e-mail message.
“We think his views deserve our attention, and that of the Chinese government,” he said.
China says the Dalai Lama, who fled to India after a failed uprising by Tibetans in 1959, is a separatist leader who should be shunned by countries that seek good relations with China. His trips overseas routinely provoke angry rebukes from China.

Chinese officials have urged President Obama not to meet with the Dalai Lama, but previous American presidents refused similar requests from China.

President Bush met the Dalai Lama several times. In 2007, Mr. Bush praised him as Congress awarded the Tibetan leader the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor in United States.

Ms. Jarrett was the highest-ranking Washington official to visit the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, where he lives, since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traveled there in March 2008. The Dalai Lama visited the United States in May and plans to return next month.

The Dalai Lama’s office said in a statement that Ms. Jarrett “reiterated President Obama’s commitment to support the Tibetan people in protecting their distinct religious, linguistic, and cultural heritage and securing respect for their human rights and civil liberties.”

The statement also said that the Dalai Lama, 74, hopes to meet President Obama after the president visits China in November.

Ms. Jarrett was accompanied by Maria Otero, under secretary of state for global affairs, who will be the administration’s official in charge of the Tibet issue, aides to the Dalai Lama said.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Junior minister backs 'greater autonomy' in Tibet trip


LONDON — A minister underlined London's support for greater Tibetan autonomy during an unprecedented visit to Lhasa this week, and talks in Beijing, the Foreign Office said Friday.
Junior Foreign Office minister Ivan Lewis visited China from Monday to Thursday, and made the first ever trip to Tibet by a British government member, 18 months after an internationally-criticised Chinese crackdown in Tibet.
"This is a historic visit," he was quoted as saying by an FCO statement, adding that it was in the context of "our decision to change UK policy, and the significant international concern following the events in March 2008."
"We recognise Tibet as an autonomous region of China ... But long-term stability can only be achieved through respect for human rights and greater autonomy," he said.
"This depends on substantive dialogue between the Chinese government and the representatives of (exiled Tibetan leader) the Dalai Lama. China has said all matters except independence can be discussed. But its position has hardened.
"I urged them to reiterate the earlier position," he said.
In Tibet, Lewis notably met the chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Drepung Monastery, while in Beijing he discussed the situation there with the vice minister of the United Front Work Department.
Ahead of the visit pro-Tibet campaigners had urged Lewis to speak out against China's rule of the Himalayan territory and what they argue are increased human rights abuses since last year's unrest in the region.
The authorities say rioters killed 21 people in the March 2008 unrest, but exile groups claim more than 200 people died, many as a result of the security crackdown.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

US for dialogue between China, Dalai Lama on Tibet

Washington, Sept 10 (PTI) The United States encourages open exchange between China and the Dalai Lama on the issue of Tibet, an Obama Administration official said today."We have immense respect for the Dalai Lama. He is one of the leading spiritual figures in the world, and we have always encouraged a more open exchange between China and the Dalai Lama and his followers," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters at his daily news briefing.Responding to a question, he said the United States is not aware of any specific plans for the Dalai Lama to go back to Tibet. "So, I can't comment on how we would stand on it right now," he said."But we do encourage more dialogue," Kelly said.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Dalai Lama says 'always ready to go back to Tibet'

TAIPEI — The Dalai Lama said Friday that he was "always ready to go back to Tibet," at the end of a five-day visit to Taiwan which has angered China.
"We are always ready to go back to Tibet. Of course, every Tibetan always thinks that way," he told reporters as he arrived at the Taoyuan International Airport outside Taipei, preparing to leave Taiwan.
The 74-year-old exiled Tibetan spiritual leader was responding to a question from AFP on whether he thought he would ever be able to return to his Himalayan homeland.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet half a century ago after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has lived in exile ever since.
Representatives of the Dalai Lama have held occasional talks with Chinese officials, most recently in November, but little progress appears to have been made.
He has said he wants "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet but China argues he is seeking full independence and is engaging in "separatist" actions in the region. The Dalai Lama denies the claim.
The Dalai Lama's trip to Taiwan has triggered strong reactions from China, although he has said that the tour was mainly to comfort victims of Typhoon Morakot, which lashed the island last month, killing more than 600 people.
China claims Taiwan as its own although the island has governed itself for six decades.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

China and India Dispute Enclave on Edge of Tibet

Source: TOI
TAWANG, India — This is perhaps the most militarized Buddhist enclave in the world.
Uneasy EngagementEnclave of Hostility
Perched above 10,000 feet in the icy reaches of the eastern Himalayas, the town of Tawang is not only home to one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most sacred monasteries, but is also the site of a huge Indian military buildup. Convoys of army trucks haul howitzers along rutted mountain roads. Soldiers drill in muddy fields. Military bases appear every half-mile in the countryside, with watchtowers rising behind concertina wire.
A road sign on the northern edge of town helps explain the reason for all the fear and the fury: the border with China is just 23 miles away; Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, 316 miles; and Beijing, 2,676 miles.
“The Chinese Army has a big deployment at the border, at Bumla,” said Madan Singh, a junior commissioned officer who sat with a half-dozen soldiers one afternoon sipping tea beside a fog-cloaked road. “That’s why we’re here.”
Though little known to the outside world, Tawang is the biggest tinderbox in relations between the world’s two most populous nations. It is the focus of China’s most delicate land-border dispute, a conflict rooted in Chinese claims of sovereignty over all of historical Tibet.
In recent months, both countries have stepped up efforts to secure their rights over this rugged patch of land. China tried to block a $2.9 billion loan to India from the Asian Development Bank on the grounds that part of the loan was destined for water projects in Arunachal Pradesh, the state that includes Tawang. It was the first time China had sought to influence the territorial dispute through a multilateral institution. Then the governor of Arunachal Pradesh announced that the Indian military was deploying extra troops and fighter jets in the area.
The growing belligerence has soured relations between the two Asian giants and has prompted one Indian military leader to declare that China has replaced Pakistan as India’s biggest threat.
Economic progress might be expected to bring the countries closer. China and India did $52 billion worth of trade last year, a 34 percent increase over 2007. But businesspeople say border tensions have infused business deals with official interference, damping the willingness of Chinese and Indian companies to invest in each other’s countries.
“Officials start taking more time, scrutinizing things more carefully, and all that means more delays and ultimately more denials, “ said Ravi Bhoothalingam, a former president of the Oberoi Group, the luxury hotel chain, and a member of the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi. “That’s not good for business.”
The roots of the conflict go back to China’s territorial claims to Tibet, an enduring source of friction between China and many foreign nations. China insists that this section of northeast India has historically been part of Tibet, and should be part of China.
Tawang is a thickly forested area of white stupas and steep, terraced hillsides that is home to the Monpa people, who practice Tibetan Buddhism, speak a language similar to Tibetan and once paid tribute to rulers in Lhasa. The Sixth Dalai Lama was born here in the 17th century. The Chinese Army occupied Tawang briefly in 1962, during a war with India fought over this and other territories along the 2,521-mile border.
More than 3,100 Indian soldiers and 700 Chinese soldiers were killed and thousands wounded in the border war. Memorials here highlighting Chinese aggression in Tawang are big draws for Indian tourists.
“The entire border is disputed,” said Ma Jiali, an India scholar at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, a government-supported research group in Beijing. “This problem hasn’t been solved, and it’s a huge barrier to China-India relations.”
In some ways, Tawang has become a proxy battleground, too, between China and the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of the Tibetans, who passed through this valley when he fled into exile in 1959. From his home in the distant Indian hill town of Dharamsala, he wields enormous influence over Tawang. He appoints the abbot of the powerful monastery and gives financial support to institutions throughout the area. Last year, the Dalai Lama announced for the first time that Tawang is a part of India, bolstering the India’s territorial claims and infuriating China.
Traditional Tibetan culture runs strong in Tawang. One morning in June, the monastery held a religious festival that drew hundreds from the nearby villages. As red-robed monks chanted sutras, blew horns and swung incense braziers in the monastery courtyard, the villagers jostled each other to be blessed by the senior lamas.
At the monastery, an important center of Tibetan learning, monks express rage over Chinese rule in Tibet, which the Chinese Army seized in 1951.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Dalai Lama to set Memphis stage as singers strike chord for peace

The Dalai Lama will be the star attraction, but he will also be an opening act for jazz and pop superstar Natalie Cole when East and West join forces Sept. 23 to promote world peace in Memphis.

After accepting an International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, the Dalai Lama, leader-in-exile of Chinese-occupied Tibet, will speak at The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts on "Developing Peace and Harmony."

The Dalai Lama meets Wednesday with Taiwan Catholic leaders  in a visit that has prompted Chinese protests.  The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will  visit Memphis on Sept. 23 to receive the International Freedom Award and participate in a peace project.

The Dalai Lama meets Wednesday with Taiwan Catholic leaders in a visit that has prompted Chinese protests. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will visit Memphis on Sept. 23 to receive the International Freedom Award and participate in a peace project.

Jazz and pop singer Natalie Cole will headline performers at "Developing Peace and Harmony" Sept. 23.

Jazz and pop singer Natalie Cole will headline performers at "Developing Peace and Harmony" Sept. 23.

The Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery perform during a ceremony Wednesday at Memphis College of Art.

Mike Maple/The Commercial Appeal

The Lamas of Drepung Loseling Monastery perform during a ceremony Wednesday at Memphis College of Art.

Tibetan folk musician Loten Namling will bring his lute mastery to the Cannon Center for the peace program.

Tibetan folk musician Loten Namling will bring his lute mastery to the Cannon Center for the peace program.

The Dalai Lama's 1:30 p.m. talk and Cole's 7:30 p.m. performance are sponsored by the Missing Peace Project, a Los Angeles offshoot of The Dalai Lama Foundation and The Committee of 100 for Tibet, an international group promoting self-determination for Tibet.

"We're very proud to be bringing this special event to a city with such an important and rich heritage, both historically and musically," said Darlene Markovich, co-founder of the The Missing Peace Project and a board member of the Committee of 100 for Tibet.

Markovich, of Palo Alto, Calif., said Cole was chosen for the evening performance because, "We felt she would be happy to be in the city of Memphis and because we thought Memphis would be happy to have her."

Also, she said the Memphis Symphony Orchestra was going to be part of the performance, and Cole's jazz style was a good fit for an orchestra.

Markovich said Cole's invitation was not based on religious or political affiliations but because Cole welcomed the idea and "seems to resonate with it."

For Cole, the performance will be part of a comeback from kidney transplant surgery in May. She has won nine Grammy awards, including the 2009 award for best traditional pop vocal album for her latest album, Still Unforgettable.

The Missing Peace Project began by organizing a collaboration of artists who created a popular traveling exhibition under the theme "Artists Consider the Dalai

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Nepal police arrest Tibetan protesters

AFP
KATHMANDU — Nepalese riot police on Wednesday arrested 10 Tibetans as they tried to protest in front of a visiting high-level Chinese delegation, said an AFP reporter at the scene.
The banner-waving protesters stood in the middle of the street and shouted "Free Tibet" as the Chinese officials drove from their hotel just outside Kathmandu on Wednesday morning, the reporter said.
Around 40 baton-wielding riot police dragged the young men into waiting vans and took them away.
A police officer at the scene, Shukra Khatri Chhetri, told AFP that seven people had been arrested.
"We have arrested seven Tibetans who were protesting in front of the Chinese delegation. They will probably be released by the evening," Chhetri said.
Nepal is home to around 20,000 exiled Tibetans who began arriving in large numbers in 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising.
The government in Kathmandu has come under increasing pressure from Beijing to suppress anti-China activity on its soil, and activists say it has responded by adopting a harder line against the exiles.
Wednesday's incident is likely to embarrass the Nepalese government, which is hosting a 17-member Chinese delegation led by Zhang Gaoli, a central committee member of China's Communist Party.
Sandwiched between India and China, Nepal has supported Beijing's "One China" policy that views Tibet as an integral part of China as it seeks to preserve friendly ties with its northern neighbour.
"We had asked local Tibetan leaders not to cause any trouble (during the visit) and especially to avoid road obstructions," said government spokesman Ratna Raj Pandey.
"We don't know why the Tibetans went against their word and tried to obstruct the road. The arrests were made to bring the situation under control.
"Nepal upholds the One China policy. We will not allow our soil to be used for any anti-China activities."
Some 2,500 Tibetans used to make the dangerous trip from Chinese-controlled Tibet to Nepal every year on their way to India to join their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
But activists say the number has fallen sharply since China mobilised its military in Tibet in March 2008.
Wednesday's protest came as around 400 exiles gathered at a nearby Buddhist monastery to mark the 49th anniversary of the creation of Tibet's government in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala.
Monks and schoolchildren paraded around the monastery carrying portraits of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, and reciting Buddhist chants.
"In Tibet we cannot celebrate this day because of the Chinese government," said 35-year-old teacher Kanchok Tenzing, who fled Tibet 20 years ago.
"I am very happy to be part of the Tibetan democracy day celebrations."

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

China provides more student scholarships for Nepal in return for curbing free-Tibet activities

Source: Nepalnews.com
China has increased the scholarships quotas for Nepali students who want to study in China.A delegation of Communist Party of China (CPC), led by Zhang Gaoli, a member of Central Committee Political Bureau of Communist Party of China (CPC) and Party chief of China's Tianjin municipality met Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal at the latter's residence today and signed an agreement to that effect.During the meeting, the Chinese delegation is also learnt to have asked PM Nepal to take tough measures to stop the growing anti-Chinese activities in Nepal.In response, the PM assured the visiting delegation that Nepal is committed to the 'One China policy' - which recognizes Tibet as an integral part of China - and that it will never allow its territory to be used against its neighbors.

Former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala shakes hand with politburo and central committee member of the Communist Party of China Zhang Gailo after the meeting at his Maharajgunj residence, Sep 01 09. nepalnews.com/NPASoon after the meeting, the Chinese delegation also met Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala at the latter's residence and discussed the ongoing constitution drafting and peace process.The Chinese team is expected to meet President Dr Ram Baran Yadav shortly.The Chinese delegation arrived in Kathmandu on Monday for a good will visit at the invitation of the government of NepalMeanwhile, issuing a 'media advisory' today, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu said that it would be providing Rs 26.4 million to Shree Manthali High Secondary School, Manthali-2, Ramechhap and Rs 25.2 million to Shree B.P Koirala Secondary School, Sapahi-7, Dhanusha.

Taiwan: China cancels events over Dalai Lama visit


By ANNIE HUANG (AP) – 2 hours ago
TAIPEI, Taiwan — China canceled or postponed several events meant to highlight its rapidly improving relations with Taiwan, apparently to protest the Dalai Lama's visit to the island, Taiwan's ruling party said Tuesday.
The Tibetan spiritual leader's visit, aimed at comforting victims of last month's deadly typhoon, has posed the most serious challenge to relations between the island and the mainland since President Ma Ying-jeou took office 15 months ago on a platform of ending 60 years of hostility.
Taiwan's ruling party said it sent an emissary to China last week to try to explain why Ma approved the visit.
"Beijing's attitude toward this is important to us, so we tried to explain to them about Taiwan's thinking," Nationalist Party Deputy Secretary General Chang Rong-kung said.
He did not say how China responded.
China has canceled or postponed at least two planned visits to Taiwan, and nixed ceremonies meant to mark the expansion of direct air service, said Nationalist Party spokeswoman Chen Shu-rong. China had already said its delegation would not join Saturday's opening ceremony for the Deaf Olympics in Taipei.
An official with China Southern Airlines, however, said no ceremony had been planned for the direct flights, saying budgets are tight and such flights have become routine. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.
Chen told The Associated Press China's actions could be linked to the visit of the Dalai Lama, whom Beijing accuses of seeking independence for his native Tibet.
"We do not exclude the possibility," she said.
Although annoyed by Ma's approval of the visit, China has so far carefully calibrated its response. Communist officials who canceled the visits were not high level, and ongoing economic cooperation with Taiwan was not disrupted.
On Tuesday, the Dalai Lama presided over a mass prayer service in the southern city of Kaohsiung to assuage the pain of Typhoon Morakot, leading some 10,000 worshippers in Buddhist chants.
His remarks were strictly religious, with no mention of politics.
Speaking on the first full day of his visit Monday, the Dalai Lama called on Taiwanese to work hard to preserve their democracy — a comment almost certain to be resented by China's communist leaders.
Beijing dislikes the Dalai Lama because he has a large international following, keeping China's heavy-handed rule over Tibet in the spotlight.
China had warned the Dalai Lama's visit was "bound to have a negative influence on the relations between the mainland and Taiwan" — a far harsher stance than its earlier comment that placed the blame for the trip on Taiwan's pro-independence opposition, rather than Ma.
Taiwan's opposition invited the Dalai Lama to visit and comfort victims of the typhoon, which killed 670 people. Ma later approved it but said he would not meet the spiritual leader.
A number of the Dalai Lama's planned appearances in Taiwan have been scaled back or canceled, prompting media speculation that Ma's government wants to show Beijing it is trying to rein him in.
But Presidential Office spokesman Wang Yu-chi denied the government was behind the program changes.
"His schedule was decided by the Dalai Lama himself, and we respect his decision," Wang said.
China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing regards the island as part of its territory. Since taking office last year, Ma has moved Taiwan's economy closer to China's and spoken repeatedly in favor of a peace treaty.
The result has been easing tensions in one of the world's most enduring conflicts.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.