Chen said the special arrangement was made because of the urgency and significance of the Dalai Lama’s visit to offer comfort and prayers for the Typhoon Morakot victims.
The leader of the Tibetan exiled government will be accompanied by eight people, six of whom will enter Taiwan in the same manner as the Dalai Lama, Chen said, adding that the other two were Republic of China and US passport holders.
Chen said so far no ranking MOFA officials were scheduled to meet with the Dalai Lama.
Meanwhile, the DPP yesterday reiterated that the Dalai Lama’s visit was purely a humanitarian mission to console Morakot victims and urged critics not to politicize the event.
“The DPP’s take on the Dalai Lama is very simple — he is here to offer spiritual nourishment for typhoon victims and to pray for Taiwan. We ask critics and the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] to refrain from interpreting his visit using political logic,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said.
Tsai shrugged off Beijing’s criticisms and repeated her stance that China and pan-blue politicians, including Ma, should not twist a simple religious visit into political ammunition.
“The Dalai Lama is a world-respected spiritual leader. His high-profile presence in Taiwan will bring much needed comfort to typhoon victims as well as elicit more global attention for Taiwan’s plight,” she said.
Tsai is expected to meet the Dalai Lama at a prayer service next week.
In a telephone interview with the Central News Agency yesterday, Tsegyam, secretary of the Dalai Lama’s office who once served as the Tibetan exile government’s representative to Taipei, said the Dalai Lama hoped to console typhoon victims in southern Taiwan.
The Dalai Lama’s visit is based on the “responsibility and obligation of a Buddhist leader,” Tsegyam said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP AND CNA
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