Emissaries for the exiled Dalai Lama and China showed little public sign of compromise as they prepared yesterday for their first talks in more than a year on restive Chinese-ruled Tibet.
The Dalai Lama’s two envoys will reopen the long-stalled negotiations with senior Communist Party officials on Saturday, the Tibetan government-in-exile said.
Ahead of the meeting, the exiled government said it hoped Beijing would reconsider a proposal to give Tibet and other Tibetan communities greater autonomy. Chinese officials rejected that proposal at the last meeting 15 months ago.
On Tuesday, Chinese government and party officials wavered little, saying China’s policy on the Dalai Lama has been “consistent and clear” and that it hoped the Tibetan spiritual leader would respond positively to Beijing’s requests.
Two envoys of the Dalai Lama arrived in China on Tuesday to resume talks on Tibet after the lengthy deadlock, said Chhime R. Chhoekyapa, the Dalai Lama’s secretary. The resumed talks came as a surprise after the acrimony and uncertainty that followed the last meeting in November 2008.
Chinese officials then refused to discuss the status of Tibet and insisted that they would only address the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in India in 1959.
At the last talks, the Dalai Lama’s envoys proposed a way for Tibetans to achieve more autonomy within the framework of the Chinese Constitution — a key demand of the minority community. But China apparently rejected the plan, saying it would not allow Tibet the kind of latitude granted to the territories of Hong Kong and Macau.
It was not clear why the discussions had resumed, but the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, said yesterday it hoped the two sides would be able to revisit the proposal for greater autonomy. The Dalai Lama’s office said on Monday the decision to send envoys Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen was made at the end of last week.
Beijing told the Dalai Lama on Tuesday to make the best of the talks, but publicly showed no sign of easing its hardline stance on their disagreements.
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