Chinese media say government will meet Dalai Lama aide

[April 25, 2008]  BEIJING (AP) -- The Chinese government plans to meet with a private representative of the Dalai Lama in the coming days, state-run media reported, after weeks of pressure from world leaders.

The official Xinhua News Agency said it had learned of the development "from official sources." It quoted an unnamed official as saying there had been requests repeatedly made by "the Dalai side for resuming talks."

China has faced repeated international calls, including from President Bush and the European Union, to open a dialogue with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader since anti-government riots rocked the Tibetan capital of Lhasa in mid-March.

The official said "the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days." No date was given, and it was unclear exactly which representative was expected to take part in the meeting.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Communist leadership's international affairs office said they did not know about the Xinhua report.

"The policy of the central government toward Dalai has been consistent and the door of dialogue has remained open," the official was quoted as saying.

China says 22 people died in the Lhasa violence, while overseas Tibet supporters say many times that number have been killed in protests and the ensuing security crackdown across Tibetan regions of western China.

The riots and government reaction have cast a shadow over preparations for the Beijing Olympics.

Between 2002 and 2006, China held six rounds of contacts with representatives of the Dalai Lama, who is also head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, with no apparent result. China has demanded he meet numerous preconditions before it will talk to him directly.

One of the preconditions is that he not seek independence for Tibet. The Nobel winner has repeatedly said he wants autonomy, not independence, but Beijing has expressed suspicion.

"It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks," Xinhua quoted the official as saying.

Many Tibetans insist they were an independent nation before communist troops invaded in 1950, while China says Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries.

[Associated Press]

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