The Dalai Lama on Monday called for dialogue as a means to end violence as he wrapped up a visit to Germany that has stirred fresh tension with China.
“The 20th century was the century of bloodshed. I say the 21st century should be one of dialogue,” he told up to 25,000 supporters gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, many waving Tibetan flags.
“Deep in our minds should be the interest of others. That is very, very important. In that way we can genuinely build a peaceful world,” he said.
The words came at the end of the first leg of a five-nation tour likely to keep pressure on China over its military clampdown on protests in Tibet in March as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games.
But the 1989 Nobel peace laureate held out an olive branch to Beijing, insisting that he is not seeking independence for the Himalayan region China annexed in 1951, but cultural autonomy.
“I see many Tibetan flags here. I want to make clear that is not to be considered something against China. This is not a separatist movement,” he said.
“We respect and support the five-star red flag,” he said, referring to the Chinese standard.
Earlier in the day the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader had held talks with German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul and met the foreign affairs committee of parliament.
Both events drew protest from the Chinese government, eight months after a meeting between the Buddhist leader and German Chancellor Angela Merkel caused a deep diplomatic rift with Beijing.
Wieczorek-Zeul said she had reiterated Germany’s demands for direct talks between Tibetan representatives and China.
“I stressed how important peaceful dialogue with China can be. The position of the federal government on this issue is very clear and I have stated it again here,” she said.
China this month resumed talks with Tibetan envoys in a move seen as a response to global condemnation of its crackdown on protestors in Lhasa, which Tibetan leaders say claimed more than 200 lives.
Beijing has countered that Tibetan “rioters” and “insurgents” killed 21 people and accused the Dalai Lama of being behind the violence.
He has denied the charge and began his tour of Germany last Thursday with an attack on China’s response to the unrest, accusing Beijing of “suppression” and spreading “resentment” beyond Tibet’s borders.
Merkel on Monday welcomed the Beijing-Tibet talks and said unhappiness over the Dalai Lama’s reception here should not set back the process.
“The chancellor expressly welcomes the resumption of dialogue,” government spokesman Thomas Steg said.
“We do not believe that today’s meeting will have a negative impact on the dialogue forming between China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives on developments in Tibet and perhaps also in neighboring regions,” he said.
The Chinese embassy last week accused the Dalai Lama of “playing politics” in the run-up to the Olympics, and said Germany should have stopped his visit.
“We object to a member of the German government receiving the Dalai Lama and to Germany allowing him to carry out this visit,” said Zhang Junhui (張軍輝), head of the information office of the Chinese embassy in Germany.
The Dalai Lama will next visit Britain, Australia, the US and France in a three-month Western tour ending in mid-August — just before the conclusion of the Beijing Olympics.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of