Tuesday, January 26, 2010

China begins talks with Dalai Lama's envoys after 15 months

BEIJING: Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the Dalai Lama and his supporters should cherish the fact that Beijing is giving it an opportunity for talks. This is the 9th round of talks, which is taking place after a gap of 15 months.

The ministry was responding to a question about the purpose of the visit by two envoys of the Dalai Lama, who are in China for another round of negotiations along with three junior officials of the Tibetan government in exile at Dharmashala in India.

"At the request of the Dalai Lama, the Chinese Government has arranged for his representatives to come to China for consultation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. "We hope the Dalai Lama will cherish this opportunity and respond positively to the request of the central government," the spokesman said.

China’s president Hu Jintao recently indicated that the Communist Party was considering improvement in its approach to minorities and the Tibetan autonomous region. At the same time, he vowed to crush the separatist movement and accused the Dalai Lama of instigating it.

Beijing is worried that US president Barack Obama might meet the Dalai Lama during his forthcoming visit to the United States, something that might complicate the Tibet issue further. This could be the reason why it agreed to talks with the envoys of the Tibetan leader.

There are indications that China agreed to negotiate with envoys of the Dalai Lama at the urging of Washington. "The United States strongly supports dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives to address longstanding differences," P J Crowley, US assistant secretary of state said in a statement.

Chinese authorities did not disclose where the meeting with Dalai Lama’s envoys, Lodi G. Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, was taking place. They are accompanied by senior assistants Tenzin P. Atisha, Bhuchung K. Tsering, both members of Tibetan Task Force on Negotiations, and Jigmey Passang from the Secretariat of the Tibetan Task Force.

The US government made it clear it was pinning strong hopes on the success of the talks. "The Administration hopes this meeting will produce positive results and provide a foundation for future discussions to resolve outstanding issues," Crowley said.

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