China plays
down trip by Dalai Lama's envoys
August - September 2007
BEIJING Tue Jul 3, 2007 (Reuters) - China played down on Tuesday a visit by the Dalai Lama's envoys as an unofficial tour, but urged them to help Tibet's exiled spiritual leader understand China's policies and make correct choices.
The office of the Dalai Lama has said his envoys, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, are in China this week in hopes of holding a sixth round of talks with the Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which is charged with dealing with religious leaders.
"First of all, I would like to clarify that Lodi Gyari and company are not so-called envoys of the Dalai," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular briefing.
"Every year, many Tibetan compatriots return for visits and to see relatives. Since 2002, Lodi Gyari and others came back many times and went to Tibet and many provinces on the mainland to see friends and relatives and for tours," Qin said.
The visitors were met by top Communist Party officials who the spokesman did not identify.
Qin said the visitors were "relatively close to the Dalai. We hope they will treasure every opportunity to come back, seriously look around and give a factual account to the Dalai after they return (to India) to help the Dalai correctly understand the situation, understand the country's policies and thus make correct choices".
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in the Indian hill station of Dharamsala since fleeing their predominantly Buddhist homeland in 1959 after a failed uprising against Communist rule.
China and the Dalai Lama's envoys have been engaged in conciliatory talks shrouded in secrecy since 2002, although little progress has been made.
Last week, State
Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States hopes the talks lead
to substantive progress on resolving long-standing differences and that President
George W. Bush has urged Chinese leaders to
invite the Dalai Lama to China.
The Dalai Lama
says he wants greater autonomy, not independence, for his homeland, but China
considers him a separatist.