China warns U.S. officials not to meet Dalai Lama

China's Foreign Ministry warned U.S. officials on Thursday not to meet with visiting exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying it hoped Washington "appropriately dealt" with Tibet-related issues.


China reviles the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Dalai Lama, saying he supports the use of violence to establish an independent Tibet. He strongly denies either accusation, insisting he seeks only true autonomy for the remote region.

The Dalai Lama is currently visiting the United States and is due to give a public talk in Washington Saturday.

The U.S. State Department said he met on Wednesday with Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero, but that it remained to be decided whether he would have any meetings at higher levels.

On Thursday, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and other senior U.S. lawmakers also met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Beijing's position on the Dalai Lama's foreign visits was clear.

"We oppose the underhand visits of the Dalai Lama which he uses to engage in activities to split the motherland," Hong told a regular news briefing.

"At the same time, we also oppose any foreign government or politicians supporting or abetting in such activities by the Dalai Lama," he added.

"We hope that the United States strictly abide by its promises on the Tibet issue and ... cautiously and appropriately deal with relevant issues," Hong said.

The Dalai Lama met U.S. President Barack Obama last year, drawing strong denunciation from Beijing.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/08/us-china-usa-dalailama-idUSTRE7667OI20110708

Tibetans cast their vote to choose a new leader

DHARMSALA, India - Tibetans across the world began voting Sunday for a new leader to take up the resistance against Chinese rule over their Himalayan homeland, as the Tibetan parliament-in-exile debated how to handle the Dalai Lama's resignation from politics.

Hundreds of monks in crimson robes joined Tibetan students, housewives and business people and the elderly in lining up in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple in India's northern city of Dharmsala, where the exiled government is based, to cast their votes in a cheerful and festive atmosphere.

Despite pleas from the Tibetan community in exile that the Dalai Lama stay on as head of government, the Buddhist spiritual leader has been adamant that the elected prime minister should take over.

The shift in power marks a major change for the Tibetan community, which for decades has looked to the Dalai Lama for both spiritual and political guidance against the heavy-handed rule of China's Communist authorities in Tibet.

The parliament-in-exile was discussing constitutional changes Sunday to enact the change and free the 76-year-old Nobel Peace laureate to focus on spiritual matters.

"He has conveyed his decision to give up his political responsibilities firmly," parliament Speaker Penpa Tsering said Saturday, predicting the assembly would honor his wish despite passing a resolution a day earlier asking him to stay.

The Dalai Lama — who is vilified by China as a political schemer — has never fully explained his decision to resign, which he announced on the March 10 anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule over Tibet that sent him into exile.

But he has suggested negotiations with Beijing might be less complicated under another Tibetan figurehead, and he has said that, in the 21st century, the idea that leaders should be elected and representative was correct.

On Sunday, some 85,000 registered Tibetans in exile — 11,000 of them in Dharmsala — were choosing the new prime minister among three candidates, as well as some new parliament members.

The premier candidates are front-runner Lobsang Sengey, a senior fellow at Harvard Law School; Tenzin Namgyal Tethong, a diplomat also settled in the United States; and Tashi Wangdi, who was the Dalai Lama's representative in Brussels, New York and New Delhi.

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http://www2.tbo.com/content/2011/mar/21/PT2NEWSO4-tibetans-cast-their-vote-to-choose-a-new/

Dalai Lama To Leave Political Post

The Dalai Lama announced Thursday his plan to retire as political head of the Tibetan exile movement, according to his website.

"Tibetans need a leader, elected freely by the Tibetan people, to whom I can devolve power," the exiled spiritual leader said in a statement. "Now, we have clearly reached the time to put this into effect."

The Dalai Lama remains the head of state for now, according to Tempa Tshering, his representative in India, and will remain the group's spiritual leader.

"On March 14, (the) parliament will meet in Dharamsala (India) and decide whether to approve his request," Tshering said. "He wants to make a change. He has always believed in democracy and he wasn't elected as head of state."

If the changes are made, leadership of the group would be passed onto an elected leader.

"Since I made my intention clear, I have received repeated and earnest requests both from within Tibet and outside, to continue to provide political leadership," the DalaiLama said in his statement. "My desire to devolve authority has nothing to do with a wish to shirk responsibility. It is to benefit Tibetans in the long run.

It is not because I feel disheartened. Tibetans have placed such faith and trust in me that as one among them I am committed to playing my part in the just cause of Tibet," he said. "I trust that gradually people will come to understand my intention, will support my decision and accordingly let it take effect."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry panned the announcement, calling the Dalai Lama a "religious crook," who is trying to splinter China.

"He is the mastermind of political activism," said Jiang Yu, ministry spokeswoman. "He has said many times he is leaving but this seems to be one of his tricks to deceive the international community."

In Nepal, 11 people were arrested Thursday for displaying "Free Tibet" banners and shouting anti-Chinese slogans, police said. Some of the arrests took place near the Buddhist monastery of Boudhanath in the capital, Kathmandu, on the anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama fled China 52 years ago on March 10, 1959, after the failed uprising. The exile group is headquartered in Dharamsala in northern India.

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