The Tibetan government-in-exile welcomed China's willingness for more talks with its envoys, but reiterated the conditions outlined in its last memorandum to Beijing.
“His Holiness the Dalai Lama is always ready to engage with the Chinese leadership to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problems of the Tibetan people,” Tibetan Government-in-Exile Prime Minister Samdhong Lobsam Tenzin, the Samdhong Rinpoche, said in a statement issued late on Saturday.
A memorandum of “genuine autonomy” for Tibet was presented to Beijing last October during the eighth round of talks with China.
“The memorandum clearly outlines the aspirations of the Tibetan people strictly within the constitutional principles of the People's Republic of China. Premier Wen Jiabao [溫家寶] appears to be trying to avoid acknowledging this document,” the statement said.
Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama — branded by Beijing as “splittist” — have held several rounds of talks, but little of substance has been achieved.
Wen said on Friday that China was open to more talks with envoys for the Dalai Lama as long as the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader renounced what Beijing described as separatism.
The Dalai Lama marked March 10, the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, with a speech calling for “meaningful autonomy” for Tibet in the north Indian town of Dharamsala, seat of his Tibetan government-in-exile.
The latest statement reiterated that the Dalai Lama was not seeking separation.
Thubten Samphel, a spokesman, said they would not negotiate on their core demands.
“These are our core demands. We will not dilute them, we will not climb down,” he said.
The Dalai Lama, “is not seeking separation” and hopes China will demonstrate sincerity in dealing with the region, the government-in-exile said.
Wen’s allegations that the Dalai Lama sought to separate Tibet from China were far from the truth, Rinpoche, said in a statement on the government-in-exile’s Web site late on Saturday. The international community is aware of the facts, which don’t need further clarification, the statement said.
The Dalai Lama is bidding to separate Tibet from China and the government won’t tolerate foreign interference, Wen said on Friday.
The comments came as US President Barack Obama called on China to renew talks with the Dalai Lama over the region’s future.
The US and human rights groups have stepped up pressure on China to change its policies in Tibet to coincide with this month’s 50th anniversary of the anti-Chinese uprising.
Rinpoche welcomed Wen's statement on continuing talks with the representatives of the Dalai Lama and said the Buddhist leader was always ready to engage with the Chinese leadership to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problems of the Tibetan people.
“A memorandum on genuine autonomy was presented to China on Oct. 31, last year, during the eighth round of talks,” Rinpoche said. “It outlines the aspirations of the Tibetan people strictly within the constitutional principles of China.”
Wen appears to be trying to avoid acknowledging this document by referring to some past statements by the Dalai Lama, Rinpoche said.
Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” that is due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700kg bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president. “My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he said at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital, Dhaka. Mridha said that a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout
It began as a satirical online project. Now millions of young people in India are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration. A parody political party called the Cockroach Janta Party, with the insect as its symbol, has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humor into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach — known for its ability to survive harsh conditions — as a tongue-in-cheek symbol of endurance. The online movement’s rise has been unusually rapid. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)
HOTTER: While Indians are accustomed to summer heat, climate change has caused northwestern India to warm faster than other parts of the country, an academic said Roads and markets have emptied during afternoons and some farmers have switched to nighttime work to avoid scorching temperatures as a heat wave grips large parts of India. The India Meteorological Department forecast maximum temperatures for yesterday of about 45°C in the capital, New Delhi, where authorities have opened temporary “cooling zones” to help people cope. The weather department warned that conditions would likely persist across several northern regions in the coming days, with temperatures staying well above seasonal averages. Authorities urged people to stay indoors during the hottest hours and take precautions against heat-related illnesses. India declares a heat wave whenever maximum temperatures
BIGGER ROLE: Beijing has said it maintains an impartial stance on the war in Ukraine, but by training Russian troops, China is far more involved than previously known China’s armed forces secretly trained about 200 Russian military personnel in China late last year, and some have since returned to fight in Ukraine, according to three European intelligence agencies and documents seen by Reuters. While China and Russia have held a number of joint military exercises since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Beijing has repeatedly said that it is neutral in the conflict and presents itself as a peace mediator. The covert training sessions, which predominantly focused on the use of drones, were outlined in a dual-language Russian-Chinese agreement signed by senior Russian and Chinese officers in Beijing on
RSS