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Dalai Lama envoys to go to China | Dalai Lama envoys to go to China |
(about 20 hours later) | |
Envoys of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, are due to hold talks with officials in China, the Dalai Lama's office says. | |
Two Tibetan envoys are expected to arrive on Saturday for talks on ending the crisis in Tibetan areas of China. | |
This would be the first contact between the two sides since anti-China protests in Tibet in March turned violent. | This would be the first contact between the two sides since anti-China protests in Tibet in March turned violent. |
Chinese state media has renewed its criticism of the Dalai Lama, who it blames for masterminding the protests. | |
This is a charge the Dalai Lama has always denied. | |
He and the Tibetan government-in-exile have been based in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959. | |
The Tibetan envoys "will convey His Holiness the Dalai Lama's deep concerns about the Chinese authorities' handling of the situation and also provide suggestions to bring peace to the region," a statement from the Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala, India, said. | The Tibetan envoys "will convey His Holiness the Dalai Lama's deep concerns about the Chinese authorities' handling of the situation and also provide suggestions to bring peace to the region," a statement from the Dalai Lama's office in Dharamsala, India, said. |
Last week, an unnamed Chinese official told state media that Beijing would hold talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama "in coming days". | Last week, an unnamed Chinese official told state media that Beijing would hold talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama "in coming days". |
The BBC's correspondent in Beijing says that there have already been six rounds of dialogue between the two sides in recent years, but none of them has achieved a breakthrough. | |
Chinese state media on Saturday renewed attacks against Tibet's spiritual leader. | |
"Patriotic people of Tibet strongly condemn and vehemently denounce the litany of crimes committed by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and his followers," said the official Tibet Daily. | |
Autonomy demands | Autonomy demands |
Anti-China protests led by Buddhist monks began in Lhasa on 10 March and gradually escalated into rioting. | Anti-China protests led by Buddhist monks began in Lhasa on 10 March and gradually escalated into rioting. |
China says at least 19 people were killed by the rioters - but Tibetan exiles say that nearly 100 were killed by the Chinese security forces as they moved to quell the unrest. | |
The unrest was the worst in the region in 20 years. | The unrest was the worst in the region in 20 years. |
The Chinese government blamed the Dalai Lama and his followers for inciting the trouble, saying their goal was to undermine the forthcoming Beijing Olympics and promote Tibetan independence. | |
"The Dalai clique's hopes of achieving Tibetan independence are increasingly dim, and at this time when their hopes have been destroyed, the Dalai clique launched a bloody violent event - their last bout of madness," the Tibet Daily said on Saturday. | |
After the riots, pro-Tibetan protesters threw China's global Olympic torch relay into disarray as it passed through several cities, including London, Paris and San Francisco. | After the riots, pro-Tibetan protesters threw China's global Olympic torch relay into disarray as it passed through several cities, including London, Paris and San Francisco. |
The Dalai Lama has denied Beijing's charges and repeated his position that he wants increased autonomy for Tibet within China, not independence. | The Dalai Lama has denied Beijing's charges and repeated his position that he wants increased autonomy for Tibet within China, not independence. |