Kaoshiung (Taiwan): A group of 30
people who said they were Taiwan typhoon victims demonstrated
against the Dalai Lama on Monday, accusing him of using a visit to
the island to stage a "political show."
The group, from Taiwan`s aboriginal community, were
standing outside the Tibetan spiritual leader`s hotel in the
southern city of Kaohsiung, holding up banners, one reading:
"We don`t want Dalai politics."
"The Dalai Lama is only staging a political show
here," said the leader of the protesters, who declined to give
his name.
"If the Dalai Lama really wants to help victims and
show respect, he should stay in an aboriginal village, not in
a big building like this," he said, pointing towards the
hotel.
The Dalai Lama arrived in Taiwan late Sunday for a
five-day visit which he has said is entirely "non-political"
and meant only to provide comfort for victims of Typhoon
Morakot, which hit earlier this month, killing at least 571
people.
His trip has angered China, which accuses the Dalai
Lama of being a separatist seeking independence for his
Himalayan homeland.
Beijing reacts angrily to any country hosting the
Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of trying to split Tibet from
China, a position that has only hardened after deadly violence
in the Himalayan region in March 2008.
Bureau Report
