In a showing of pro-China support, hundreds of demonstrators protested outside a college arena as the Dalai Lama spoke to students on solving problems through dialogue.
Thousands of people have flocked to Seattle to hear the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader speak since he arrived Thursday for a five-day conference on compassion, but the city’s Chinese community had remained largely silent until Monday.
Demonstrators held signs alleging media bias and protesting the violence from rioting by Tibetan monks.
Some echoed Beijing’s stand that the Dalai Lama is behind the recent uprising against five decades of Chinese rule. Signs called the Dalai Lama a liar and a “CIA-funded militant.” Many people waved large Chinese flags.
“I think that people are misinformed. They have media discrimination,” demonstrator Jiange Li said. “Tibet was freed — 50 years ago.”
The group chanted “We love Tibet,” “Stop lying” and “Dalai, your smiles charm, your actions harm,” as thousands of people filed into the University of Washington arena. A small plane flew overhead with a banner mirroring the chants.
The China-born community is the largest Asian immigrant group in Seattle, according to US Census Bureau figures.
However, Seattle has historically been friendly to the Tibetan cause. The Dalai Lama has visited the city several times and has always been warmly welcomed.
Inside the arena, the Dalai Lama received an honorary degree and spoke of the importance of employing dialogue and mutual respect to solve problems.
He was greeted by a standing ovation. University president Mark Emmert welcomed the Tibetan leader, calling him the “pre-eminent spiritual leader of our time.”
“You will make this century of peace,” the Dalai Lama told students. “Today’s world [is] heavily interdependent. Destruction of your neighbor or enemy is destruction of yourself.”
Meanwhile, a number of monks were detained at a key Buddhist monastery near the Tibetan capital Lhasa after they resisted efforts to force them to denounce the Dalai Lama, an overseas Tibet group said.
The report was the latest indicating tension in the Himalayan region after security forces moved in to quell widespread protests against Beijing’s rule last month.
Security forces were called in to the Drepung monastery at the weekend after the monks protested the arrival of a “patriotic education” team, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said on their Web site on Monday.
Such teams force monks to denounce the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and are used by China to suppress religious freedom, Tibetan exile groups say.
“A number of Tibetan monks were immediately detained and taken away to an unknown location by the security forces for interrupting and protesting the campaign,” the center’s notice said.
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