Dalai Lama says Obama not soft on China

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Sunday U.S. President Barack Obama was not soft on China and said he hoped he would discuss Tibet with the Indian prime minister in Washington this week.

"Obama is not soft on China, he just has a different style," the Dalai Lama told the NDTV news channel in an interview.
Obama had called for a resumption of dialogue between the Dalai Lama's envoys and China to resolve the Tibet crisis during his just-concluded visit to Beijing.
The Tibetan government-in-exile said last week it was willing to talk to China following Obama's comments.
Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama have held eight rounds of talks, but little of substance has been achieved.
The Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet to India in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, said he was not disappointed over failing to meet Obama during his U.S. visit in October.
The Dalai Lama, dubbed a "splittist" by Beijing, says he is merely seeking autonomy for Tibet, which last year erupted in riots and protests against the Chinese presence.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the United States this week to discuss regional issues, climate change and a nuclear deal.

Taiwan's Ma treads carefully in forging China ties

When it comes to China, many Taiwanese draw a line in the sand.
They welcome President Ma Ying-jeou's efforts to build closer economic ties with the mainland since taking office 18 months ago. But most remain steadfast against China's goal of bringing the island of 23 million people back under its control, 60 years after the two split amid civil war.
So while Taiwan and China are growing closer economically, that doesn't mean they are going to grow any closer politically, at least in the next few years. With voters strongly opposed to trusting the island's hard-won democracy to Beijing's communists, Ma is certainly unlikely to push in that direction ahead of his probable re-election bid in 2012.
The 59-year-old president signaled as much earlier this summer, when opposition politicians attempted to embarrass him after a botched government response to a devastating typhoon.
The opposition invited the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan religious leader at odds with China, to comfort typhoon survivors. Refusing him an entry visa would have pleased Beijing but opened Ma to more criticism at home. Risking Beijing's ire, he allowed the Dalai Lama to come.
China, while making pro-forma protests, showed great understanding of that decision. It sees Ma as vastly preferable to his predecessor, Chen Shui-ban, who favored seeking formal independence _ a stance that prompted Beijing to dust off long-standing threats to attack across the 100-mile- (160-kilometer-) wide Taiwan Strait.
The United States, which fears being drawn into any China-Taiwan conflict, welcomes Ma's approach. Though Washington shifted recognition from Taipei to Beijing as the legitimate Chinese government in 1979, it still supports Taiwan's vibrant democracy.
Taiwan expert Shelley Rigger of North Carolina's Davidson College says Ma's measured approach has won the approval of broad sections of the Taiwanese population _ even some who didn't vote for him.
"You might say he is channeling the Taiwanese voters' desire to 'have it all' _ good relations with China and de facto independence, too!" she wrote in an e-mail response to questions.
On the commercial side Ma has sanctioned the first regular cross-strait flights in 60 years, liberalized bilateral investment rules, opened Taiwan to significantly increased numbers of Chinese tourists and paved the way for the signing of a far reaching trade pact between the sides.
But politically, he has made only vague calls for a China-Taiwan peace treaty and leavened them with pointed criticisms of the mainland's military stance, including the deployment of some 1,500 missiles aimed at Taiwan. He has also pushed for purchases of sophisticated armaments from the United States, making it clear he will do what it takes to defend against a possible Chinese invasion.
Still, Rigger says, "he needs to pay attention to rising doubts about the pace of cross-Strait dealmaking."
Rigger's comment reflects the profound doubts that many Taiwanese have about China's communist system. Opinion polls consistently point to majorities of 70 percent or higher opposed to unification. While the surveys don't break down the reasons, conversations with ordinary Taiwanese suggest they are tied to a dislike of China's one-party dictatorship, its wide rich-poor gap and its seeming disregard for many aspects of traditional Chinese culture.
Opinions vary among different groups on Taiwan. "Mainlanders" _ families of people who arrived in Taiwan in 1949 after Mao Zedong's communists defeated Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists in the Chinese civil war _ are generally seen as more sympathetic to China than "native-born Taiwanese," whose connections to the country have diminished in the 250-350 years since their ancestors came to the island from China's Fujian province.
The divisions are not absolute.
Mainlander Icka Yin, a 37-year-old Taipei housewife, says she once supported unity with China but changed her mind after a six-month stint working for a Beijing bank in 2004.
Yin, who counts herself a strong supporter of Ma's Nationalist Party, says she was particularly put off by the condescending attitude of officials and bureaucrats toward ordinary Chinese and the propaganda-laden quality of state-run media _ both of which play poorly in freewheeling Taiwan.
"I have come to question (unity) because there is simply too huge a cultural gap between the two sides," she says.
Ann Chen, the mainlander manager of a Taiwanese public relations firm in Shanghai, supports the economic element of Ma's China policy but doesn't want it extended into politics.
"The best thing for Taiwan and China now is to discuss economic development only and avoid any talks about sensitive political issues," she said.
Ma himself appears to understand that, making it clear that at least for the time being political dealmaking is not on his agenda.
"Our hands are actually full with economic issues," he told The Associated Press last month. "Those are more urgent and are of more concern for the welfare of our people."
Associated Press writer Foster Klug contributed to this report.

Be Buddhists of 21st Century, Bring Reform: Dalai Lama

Asking his followers to be "Buddhists of the 21st century," Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama today asked the community to work for removing evils like superstition and bring "positive change" in the society.
Addressing a large number of people at a religious meeting at the Tawang Higher Secondary School, the 74-year-old monk also harped on the need for peace and compassion in today's world.
Specially referring to the adherence of his faith, the 14th Dalai Lama said, "Let us be Buddhists of the 21st century, acting as harbingers of positive change".
He also spoke about the virtues of Buddhism and said there was a need to introspect so that reforms can take place at the individual and community level.
Clad in a red robe with a yellow shawl, the head of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism dwelt on proper action and conduct. "Action should not benefit the doer alone but others as well, including all living beings," he said.
He underscored the need to identify certain attributes which harm the Buddhist faith. "Evils like superstition will have to be removed by careful self-examination," he said.
The religious discourse of the Nobel peace prize winner who spoke in Tibetan was translated in Hindi and broadcast to the people who had travelled from different parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan and some other places.
A key part of the religious event was the distribution of saplings, mainly conifers like pine to be planted in and around Tawang.
Earlier, inaugurating the Kahndo-Dowa Songma Tawang district hospital, the Dalai Lama urged the staff to work with dedication and gave his blessings to all present.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and high-ranking monks of the Tawang monastery were present.
The people of Tawang are in a festive mood with shops remaining closed and their owners flocking to have a glimpse of the religious leader they consider as "living god".
The Dalai Lama, who arrived here yesterday on a four-day visit, had rebuffed China for objecting to his trip to Arunachal Pradesh and expressed surprise over its claims to Tawang, a revered seat of Buddhism.
The Tibetan spiritual leader is on a tour of this remote north-eastern state after a gap of six years. It also marks 50 years of his escape from Tibet after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule there.
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Dalai Lama Says Tawang Visit Is to Teach, Not Find Successor

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, said his planned visit to Buddhist monasteries on the India-China border next month is solely for teaching and shouldn’t anger China’s government.

The Dalai Lama will visit the town of Tawang in a disputed border region of Arunachal Pradesh state next month. The town is where he crossed into India in 1959 while fleeing Chinese rule over Tibet, as well as the birthplace in the 17th-century of the sixth Dalai Lama.
“If my visit creates problems, I’m very sad, that’s all,” the 74 year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner told reporters in Tokyo today. “It was a fearful journey with great anxiety, and when I reached the Tawang area it was an immense relief. I have great feelings about the area.”
Tawang is home to one of the largest monasteries of his Gelugpa sect of Buddhism. Local leaders invited him to teach and dedicate a new hospital, built in part with funds he donated. Next month’s visit was the first opportunity to accept, and was not meant to surprise the Chinese government, he said.
Asked whether his successor may be found in Tawang, he restated that he will play no role in such efforts. Tibetans believe the Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of Avalokitsevara, the Buddha of Compassion.
“If I was communist then I would have to be concerned about my successor but I’m not communist,” he said. “If the majority of Tibetan people want to keep the Dalai Lama as an institution, they will carry it on. It’s not my business.”
‘Propaganda Won’t Work’
The Dalai Lama repeated his call for reporters to be allowed to visit Tibet to assess conditions without the presence of security officers. Tibet’s biggest pro-independence demonstrations in almost 20 years took place in March 2008 when hundreds of monks marched to demand an end to religious restrictions and the release of imprisoned colleagues.
“If the reality in Tibet is what the government says and that Tibetan people are happy, then our information is wrong. We would have to apologize and we would cease all our activities,” he said. “But if it’s not as the government says, then they should take a realistic approach at solving the situation because propaganda isn’t going to work.”
Allowing the media to report the truth about Tibet would help China build trust with other countries that would increase its authority in global affairs, he said.
“People should have full knowledge of the reality, good or bad, and that is lacking in all authoritarian countries and especially in mainland China,” he said. “This must change. If China is going to take a more constructive role on this planet, trust is essential.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Biggs in Tokyo at sbiggs3@bloomberg.net.

Dalai Lama defends visit to disputed Indian state

By Kyoko Hasegawa (AFP)

TOKYO — Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Saturday said he was surprised at China's protest against his planned visit to an area of India claimed by Beijing, hinting he backed India on the border issue.

The Dalai Lama also criticised China's one-party rule and its state-controlled media, while praising India's "successful" democracy.

The Buddhist monk, who arrived in Tokyo Friday for a week-long stay in Japan ahead of his November 8 visit to Arunachal Pradesh state in northeast India where China and India fought a border war in 1962.

"I was surprised" at China's criticism of the planned visit, the Dalai Lama told reporters when asked about the motive behind his trip.

"Because in (19)62, the People's Liberation Army already reached that area, already occupied... then India sort of pushed them back. The Chinese government unilaterally (made) ceasefire, withdrawal," he said. "So what's the problem?"

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after China crushed an anti-Chinese uprising in Tibet, is viewed as a "splittist" by Beijing, although he says he wants autonomy rather than full independence for his Himalayan homeland.

China has said it is "firmly opposed" to the Dalai Lama's trip to Arunachal Pradesh.

"One reason why India is successful in democracy is ... that (for) more than 2000 years India (has had) this strong tradition to respect different views," the Dalai Lama said, stressing the importance of respecting different religions and the views of non-believers.

He also criticised China's one-party state and lack of media freedom.

"People in China (have) no free information, too much sensation. And their own newspaper, media -- all their information is one-sided propaganda," he said.

The Dalai Lama called for journalists from the international media to visit China to "find the reality" in the western regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, home to the Tibetan and Uighur ethnic minorities, respectively.

Deadly unrest broke out in Tibet in March 2008 and July this year in Xinjiang as part of long-standing friction between China's majority Han population and ethnic minorities.

The Dalai Lama suggested the next Tibetan leader should be democratically elected.

"That's none of my business," said the 74-year-old, asked about his thoughts on his successor.

"In 2001, we already achieved elected political leadership," he said, referring to the election of the leader of the Tibetan government in exile based in northern India.

"At that time the four centuries-old tradition that the Dalai Lama institution is the head of both the spiritual and the secular, that already ended."

The Dalai Lama was traditionally chosen by looking for spiritual signs and testing the reactions of young children to determine if they could be the reincarnation of the spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama has flirted with breaking with tradition by choosing his successor, fearing that China would try to install its own choice to tighten control of his homeland.

China sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and officially "liberated" it the following year.