Beijing: Emissaries for the exiled Dalai Lama
and China showed little public sign of compromise as they
prepared today 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.
Yesterday, 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 yesterday
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
China-ruled Tibet and insisted that they would only address
the return of the Dalai Lama, who fled to exile in India in
1959.
-PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 20:29