Friday - October 12, 2007

Bush to Meet with Dalai Lama

When is the last time the U.S. stood up to China? Even our toy companies bow before the land of cheap labor and substandard goods.

The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will meet with President Bush in Washington Tuesday before being honored by the U.S. Congress in a ceremony on Capitol Hill. His visit is part of a month-long tour of North American cities. VOA's Alex Villarreal reports from Washington.

At Wednesday's ceremony, Congress will present the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal, its highest civilian honor. President Bush will attend the ceremony. This will be the first time a sitting U.S. President will appear with the Dalai Lama at a public event.

The President also plans to meet privately with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader on Tuesday at the White House.

China has expressed its opposition to Congress's decision to honor the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of separatist activities.

But speaking in Washington on Friday, Special Envoy to the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari, said the award shows the Tibetan people they have not been forgotten and should be regarded by China as a positive step.

"I really feel very gratified that this will give yet another sometime for the Tibetans to continue to have more patience, to continue to remain nonviolent, continue to, you know, have hope so that some kind of result, you know, could be. So I think that this is very important. This is very important. In fact, the Chinese should be happy because it gives all of us some more space time, breathing space, you know, for us to sort out our differences," the envoy said.

China regularly challenges attempts by the Dalai Lama, a nobel laureate, to meet with world leaders. On Thursday a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said China opposes any country or person using the Dalai Lama to interfere in its internal affairs. Read more....

Author: The Machiavellian
Technorati Tags: China Dalai Lama
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