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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Dalai Lama urges Chinese contacts
  • Date: Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:19:48 -0500


BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Dalai Lama urges Chinese contacts
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7744399.stm
Page last updated at 08:49 GMT, Sunday, 23 November 2008
Dalai Lama urges Chinese contacts
The Dalai Lama (right) confers with confers with his ally, Samdhong Rinpoche,
in Dharamsala on 20 November
The Dalai Lama (right) spoke after a week of talks among Tibetan exiles

The Dalai Lama has urged his fellow Tibetan exiles in India to improve contacts with ordinary Chinese people, saying he has always had faith in them.

By contrast, he argued, the Chinese government remained repressive in Tibet and he warned of "great danger" if the exiles did not exercise caution.

He welcomed a decision by exiles to back his policy of autonomy, rather than
independence, from China.

The veteran leader, 73, also sought to end rumours he was planning to retire.

Speaking to exiles in the Himalayan town of Dharamsala, from which he has led the Tibetan cause for nearly 50 years, he said: "My faith in the Chinese people has never been shaken".

He said China was changing and the Tibetan movement should seek to take
advantage of that.

But his faith in the Chinese government, he added, was "getting thinner", and he accused them of using "fear and ruthless suppression" to control Tibet.

''If we're not careful in our actions over the next 20 years, [they could]
lead to great danger,'' he said.

Other options

Although Tibet has enjoyed long periods of autonomy or self-rule, China maintains that it has always been an integral part of its territory.


TIBET DIVIDE
China says Tibet was always part of its territory
Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century
In 1950, China launched a military assault
Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959
Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India
Dalai Lama now advocates a "middle way" with Beijing, seeking autonomy but
not full independence

In depth: Guide to Tibet

Chinese Communist forces invaded Tibet in 1950 and have ruled there ever
since.

Under the Dalai Lama's so-called "Middle Way" approach, Tibetans would essentially stop pushing for the re-establishment of Tibet as an independent nation.

Total independence was "not practicable", he told the meeting in Dharamsala,
India.

"[The] majority of views have come up supporting the Middle Way path to the
Tibetan issue... which is right," he said.

The Dalai Lama, who was treated in hospital with abdominal pains earlier this
year, said of himself:

"There is no point, or question of retirement," he said.

He was speaking after a week-long meeting of representatives of the Tibetan movement concluded that if China made no effort to meet the Dalai Lama's demands, then other options, including calls for independence and self-determination, would be put forward.

Delegates also suggested that the Dalai Lama's envoy should not return to
China unless attitudes changed in Beijing.

China's authorities in Tibet made clear in recent days that they believed the
exiles were still bent on independence.

"The so-called 'Middle Way' is a naked expression of 'Tibetan independence' aimed at nakedly spreading the despicable plot of opposing the tide of history," said an editorial in the official Tibet Daily newspaper on Friday.

TENSION IN TIBET
KEY STORIES
Tibetans blamed for failed talks
Tibet reopens to foreign tourism
Most Tibet protesters 'now freed'
China confirms Tibet envoy talks
FEATURES AND ANALYSIS
Dalai Lama Crunch time
What are the issues facing Tibetan exiles, as they gather for a key meeting?
Beijing willing to engage
Profile: The Dalai Lama
Tibetan monk speaks out
Tibetan monks: A controlled life
Tibet's unsettled borders
listen Jailed protester
BACKGROUND
Guide: Inside Tibet
The Tibet issue: China's view
The Tibet issue: Tibetan view
Q&A: China and Tibet
Key places and events
EYEWITNESS
Tibetans describe unrest
Chinese react to violence

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Chinese government
Dalai Lama
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

FROM OTHER NEWS SITES
Tri-City Herald Online* Dalai Lama warns Tibetan exiles to be prudent - 34
mins ago
Sydney Morning Herald* Tibetan exiles back Dalai Lama - 41 mins ago
Ledger-Enquirer Dalai Lama warns Tibetan exiles to be prudent - 1 hr ago
Reuters Dalai Lama rules out retirement and reaffirms middle way - 2 hrs ago
Washington Post* Dalai Lama warns Tibetan exiles to be prudent - 3 hrs ago
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  • [permaculture] BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Dalai Lama urges Chinese contacts, Lawrence F. London, Jr., 11/23/2008

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