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Dalai discusses China with Taiwan leader
Visiting Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Saturday he met for a second time Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian to exchange views on dealing with China.
Visiting Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama said on Saturday he met for a second time Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian to exchange views on dealing with China.
"This time, (we) talked of my own experience regarding dealing with the People's Republic of China, to find a mutual solution," the Tibetan leader said.
He said he was not seeking independence for Tibet and added "the (Taiwanese) President knows very clearly my position".
Chen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party has insisted on Taiwan's sovereignty in dealings with China, rejecting Beijing's claim that the island is part of Chinese territory.
The two also discussed education and Taiwan's economic problems, the Dalai Lama added. They two had a landmark meeting on Thursday.
The Dalai Lama also visited Vice-President Annette Lu in her office later on Saturday.
Lu told the Nobel Peace laureate that his Buddhist teachings over the past few days had ignited compassion and touched the people's heart, according to a statement from her office.
Lu invited the Tibetan leader to visit Taiwan again in Nov for the opening of a religious museum, the statement said.
The Vice-President has been described by China's official press as "scum of the nation," and a "sinner for 1,000 years," for her pro-independent notions.
Beijing was expected to revile the meeting between Lu and the Dalai Lama, whom it has also denounced as a "splittist".
The Dalai Lama on Friday met former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui who has also been accused by Beijing as trying to split Taiwan from the "motherland".
Earlier on Saturday, the Dalai Lama led a special Buddhist ritual for some 15,000 Taiwanese Buddhists to attain blessing and enlightenment.
Followers wore red silk ropes on their wrists as a symbol of protection and a red blindfold.
Before the ritual, they were given a small amount of "blessing water" to apply on their heads, faces and hands for "cleansing".
As a mark of respect, followers placed a dry flower petal on their heads as a symbolic offering to Buddha.
The ritual marked an end to the Dalai Lama's preaching in Taiwan and he will travel to central and southern Taiwan on Sunday before leaving on Monday at the end of a nine-day trip.
The Buddhist Association, a sponsor of the Dalai Lama's trip, said he had donated $150,000 to help relief work for the survivors of the Sept 21, 1999 deathly earthquake which left some 2,400 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
China has considered Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification since the two sides were separated by a civil war ending in 1949.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has since lived in exile in northern India.
He has adopted a conciliatory approach by dropping calls for Tibetan independence, instead demanding large-scale autonomy for the region.
"This time, (we) talked of my own experience regarding dealing with the People's Republic of China, to find a mutual solution," the Tibetan leader said.
He said he was not seeking independence for Tibet and added "the (Taiwanese) President knows very clearly my position".
Chen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party has insisted on Taiwan's sovereignty in dealings with China, rejecting Beijing's claim that the island is part of Chinese territory.
The two also discussed education and Taiwan's economic problems, the Dalai Lama added. They two had a landmark meeting on Thursday.
The Dalai Lama also visited Vice-President Annette Lu in her office later on Saturday.
Lu told the Nobel Peace laureate that his Buddhist teachings over the past few days had ignited compassion and touched the people's heart, according to a statement from her office.
Lu invited the Tibetan leader to visit Taiwan again in Nov for the opening of a religious museum, the statement said.
The Vice-President has been described by China's official press as "scum of the nation," and a "sinner for 1,000 years," for her pro-independent notions.
Beijing was expected to revile the meeting between Lu and the Dalai Lama, whom it has also denounced as a "splittist".
The Dalai Lama on Friday met former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui who has also been accused by Beijing as trying to split Taiwan from the "motherland".
Earlier on Saturday, the Dalai Lama led a special Buddhist ritual for some 15,000 Taiwanese Buddhists to attain blessing and enlightenment.
Followers wore red silk ropes on their wrists as a symbol of protection and a red blindfold.
Before the ritual, they were given a small amount of "blessing water" to apply on their heads, faces and hands for "cleansing".
As a mark of respect, followers placed a dry flower petal on their heads as a symbolic offering to Buddha.
The ritual marked an end to the Dalai Lama's preaching in Taiwan and he will travel to central and southern Taiwan on Sunday before leaving on Monday at the end of a nine-day trip.
The Buddhist Association, a sponsor of the Dalai Lama's trip, said he had donated $150,000 to help relief work for the survivors of the Sept 21, 1999 deathly earthquake which left some 2,400 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.
China has considered Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification since the two sides were separated by a civil war ending in 1949.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule and has since lived in exile in northern India.
He has adopted a conciliatory approach by dropping calls for Tibetan independence, instead demanding large-scale autonomy for the region.