Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama may be allowed to visit China if he ”completely abandons” independence ambitions, the nation’s religious affairs chief said in comments published on Monday.
”As long as the Dalai Lama makes clear that he has completely abandoned Tibetan ‘independence’, it is not impossible for us to consider his visit,” State Administration for Religious Affairs director Ye Xiaowen told the China Daily. ”We can discuss it.”
The Tibetan government-in-exile, based in the Indian hill station of Dharamsala, welcomed the statement.
But a representative said China should avoid setting conditions for what it termed a pilgrimage because the Dalai Lama has already stated he opposes independence.
”His Holiness has said so many times that he is not seeking independence. And attaching preconditions to a visit of this nature is not appropriate,” said spokesperson Thupten Samphel.
Tibet has been ruled by China since Chinese troops ”liberated” the region in 1950. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 as the Tibetan uprising failed and established his government-in-exile in Dharamsala.
While the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner says he is now only seeking autonomy for Tibet within China, Beijing frequently accuses him of separatism and demands he definitively give up aspirations for independence.
Xiaowen reiterated China’s suspicion and said the Dalai Lama ”has failed to deliver a clear message” on his stance, according to the China Daily.
The Dalai Lama said last month his envoys had conveyed his request to the Chinese authorities that he wished to go on a pilgrimage to China.
The Tibetan government spokesperson said such a trip could clear up ”mutual suspicions that have accumulated for a long time” and help China understand the Dalai Lama’s ”sincere wish for Tibet to function autonomously within the People’s Republic of China”. — AFP
