The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Dalai Lama’s representative have both denied a media report that the party asked former National Security Bureau director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) to deliver an invitation for the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Taiwan.
“The story is completely made-up, and therefore we urge Storm Media Group to immediately make corrections,” DPP spokesperson Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said yesterday. “Obviously, someone is intentionally spreading the rumor, and we would like to call on media outlets to be cautious in confirming such information to avoid becoming tools for spreading rumors.”
He was referring to a story published by online news media Storm Media Group, saying that DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had secretly sent Tsai Der-shang to India to meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader, with a brief to invite him to visit Taiwan.
The report also said that Tsai Ing-wen asked Taoayuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) to begin preparing for the Dalai Lama’s visit, adding that Tsai Der-sheng was also helping to arrange for Tsai Ing-wen’s visit to Japan.
Dawa Tsering, chairman of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama — the de facto embassy of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Taiwan — also denied the report.
“As far as I know, Tsai Der-sheng did travel to India, but he was there for a tour with his family,” Dawa told the Taipei Times via telephone. “While his family did request to see His Holiness, it has nothing to do with inviting him to visit Taiwan, and I have never heard of such an invitation.”
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