25 April 2008
China's Willingness to Meet Dalai Lama Aides “Very Encouraging”
State Department urges Beijing to follow up on offer to resume talks
Washington -- China’s statement that it has agreed to meet with representatives of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is “a very encouraging step,” U.S. officials said, and they urged Beijing immediate to follow up on the statement.
“We would welcome the resumption of dialogue between China and representatives of the Dalai Lama as a way of addressing issues on both sides,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington April 25.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency quoted an unidentified official as saying April 24 that the Chinese government “will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days,” in view of repeated requests by the Dalai Lama to resume talks.
Although the news agency gave no details on a time or place for the talks, or whom they would involve, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing’s spokeswoman, Susan Stevenson, said the report was encouraging.
"The U.S. has long encouraged the Chinese to renew dialogue with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. So if the reports are true ... we see this as a positive development," Stevenson said.
The development comes in the wake of anti-government protests in Tibet and weeks of worldwide protests that have affected the Olympic torch relay in preparation for the 2008 summer games in Beijing.
Many world leaders have called on China to have a dialogue with the Tibetan Buddhist leader.
In testimony before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee April 23, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte urged the Chinese government to speak with representatives of the Dalai Lama, who he said are opposed to violence and are not seeking Tibet’s independence.
Negroponte warned that the continued refusal to engage with the Dalai Lama “will only serve to strengthen those who advocate extreme views.” (See “State’s Negroponte Urges China to Begin Dialogue with Dalai Lama.”)
