Beijing: China says the Dalai Lama's support for Buddhist clerics who set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule is a type of terrorism in disguise.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on Wednesday condemned the recent immolations by Tibetans in western China and said that the Dalai Lama is glorifying the cases, inciting more people to commit suicide.
Nine clerics — eight monks and a nun — have set themselves on fire since March over tightening restrictions on religious practice and heavy-handed policing in Aba, a traditionally Tibetan region under Chinese control.
To honor the clerics, the Dalai Lama fasted and led prayers Wednesday in the Indian town where he lives in exile.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 19:50