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Bush welcomes Dalai Lama, despite complaints from China

SONYA ROSS

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush extended a carefully measured welcome to the Dalai Lama on Wednesday despite complaints from China. He said he supported the exiled Buddhist leader’s efforts to begin talking with Chinese leaders about preserving Tibet’s religious and cultural identity.

China, while marking the 50th anniversary of its rule over Tibet, condemned the White House meeting, saying that the reception and the U.S. visit of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian indicated a toughening stance against China.

Bush, along with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, greeted the Dalai Lama in the White House residence, not the Oval Office. Bush aides stressed that he received the Dalai Lama in his capacity as a religious leader, and that the visit did not indicate a shift in policy toward China.



”The president commended the Dalai Lama’s commitment to nonviolence and declared his strong support for the Dalai Lama’s tireless efforts to initiate a dialogue with the Chinese government,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. ”The president said he would seek ways to encourage dialogue, and expressed his hope that the Chinese government would respond favorably.”

In China, however, state television reported that Luo Gan, the Communist Party’s top cadre for law and order, told officials the Dalai Lama was ”traveling further and further down the separatist road.” The official Xinhua News Agency said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong lodged a formal diplomatic protest of Chen’s visit with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.



”Obviously, we took that on board,” said State Department spokesman Philip Reeker. ”We’ve certainly heard the Chinese views before on that subject.”

State media portray modern Tibet as an increasingly prosperous land where religious freedom thrives, education is universal and residents rally behind the government in Beijing. The ”peaceful liberation” of Tibet by Chinese forces in 1950 ”marked the first step for people in Tibet toward sunshine and happiness from darkness and suffering,” Xinhua said.

China sealed its control over Tibet with a 17-point agreement signed with representatives of the Dalai Lama in Beijing on May 23, 1951, after Tibetan forces surrendered to a superior Chinese army. Beijing considers the agreement a symbol of the legitimacy of its claim over Tibet.

A major uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 was suppressed by Chinese forces. The Dalai Lama then fled to India, where he repudiated the agreement, claiming the Tibetan officials were coerced into signing it.

The Dalai Lama said he told Bush he is seeking ”genuine self-rule” as ”a mutually equitable solution” for Tibet and China, and Bush shared that approach.

”I assured to him that in the future, whenever the president has an opportunity to meet with the Chinese leader, he can assure the Chinese government I’m not seeking independence,” the Dalai Lama said.

He said Bush showed him ”very genuine, human, warm feelings. That I very much appreciate.”

Fleischer said Bush repeated that the United States would ”support the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity, and the protection of the human rights of all Tibetans.”

When asked whether Bush was trying to send a signal to China by greeting the spiritual leader more openly than former President Clinton did, Fleischer told reporters that it was Clinton who opted to have ”drop by” sessions with the Dalai Lama, as opposed to full meetings.

”The president is maintaining the long-standing tradition of meeting with the Dalai Lama,” Fleischer said. ”Previous presidents, of course, have met with the Dalai Lama, so there is no change in the United States policy.”

Lodi Gyari, the Dalai Lama’s special envoy, said the spiritual leader stressed that there would be ”dangerous consequences to the Tibetan identity” if China’s policies toward Tibet go unchanged, and felt encouraged by the reception he received from the Bush administration.

When asked about China’s bid for the 2008 Olympics, the Dalai Lama said he would support it if advocates for democracy feel it can lead to more openness in China, but not if it could have a demoralizing, ”world don’t care” effect.

”When I look (at) one problem, I always look from various angles, so sometimes (that) makes me more indecisive,” the Dalai Lama said.

The Dalai Lama met Tuesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell. The monk told reporters that Powell ”listened very keenly” as he discussed his ideas about promoting human and religious values and the situation in Tibet.

On the Net:

State Department Global Affairs desk: http://www.state.gov/g/

Dalai Lama: http://www.dalailama.com/


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