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Bush Meets Dalai Lama Over China's Objections
WASHINGTON, May 23 (News Agencies) - President George W. Bush welcomed the Dalai Lama to the White House Wednesday over Beijing's stern objections and vowed strong support for the exiled spiritual leader's efforts to start a dialogue with China.
Meanwhile, Beijing formally protested "wrongdoing" by Washington in deciding to allow Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to stop in the United States en route to Latin America. China considers Taiwan a renegade province.
While both U.S. moves appeared likely to further strain Sino-U.S. relations, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that "the president continues to believe that we can work with China on issues where we have agreements, such as trade."
"There will be other areas, such as human rights and religious persecution, where the United States and China will differ, and the president will not hesitate to discuss those differences in an effort to ameliorate them," he emphasized.
While the Dalai Lama's visit appeared to fall squarely in the latter camp, White House officials took pains to describe it as a "private meeting" with a prominent - not political - figure, in an apparent bid to mollify China.
"Tibet is a part of China," said Fleischer. "There is no policy change."
Since Bush took office January 20th, Sino-U.S. ties have been frayed by a standoff over a downed U.S. spy plane, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the detention of several U.S.-based scholars in China and perennial U.S. criticism of China's human rights record.
After the get-together, which occurred in the presidential residence here, Fleischer said in a statement that Bush had "declared his strong support for the Dalai Lama's tireless efforts to initiate a dialogue with the Chinese government."
Bush "said he would seek ways to encourage dialogue and expressed his hope that the Chinese government would respond favorably," according to the spokesman, who indicated U.S. national security advisor Condoleezza Rice was also present.
He "also reiterated the strong commitment of the United States to support the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and linguistic identity and the protection of the human rights of all Tibetans," said Fleischer.
The religious leader told reporters that he had urged Bush to endorse democracy, human rights, and religious freedom during his October trip to China and had told him he favored autonomy - not independence - for his homeland.
Beijing reviles the Dalai Lama as a separatist seeking independence and the break-up of China. The Dalai, who fled Tibet after an abortive anti-China uprising in 1959, campaigns around the world for greater Tibetan autonomy.
The meeting came as Beijing celebrated the 50th anniversary of what it calls its "peaceful liberation" of Tibet and promised "no compromise" in the Communists' fight against granting it autonomy.
In Washington, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama, Lodi Gyari, said in a statement that the U.S. administration had offered "moral and material support to help preserve Tibet's unique linguistic, cultural and religious identity."
A White House official, who declined to be identified, said that apparently referred to existing funds, totaling five million dollars, earmarked for a host of programs helping refugees and encouraging Tibetan scholarship.
The exiled leader, who lives in India, had met with previous presidents - including Bush's father, former president George Bush - although former president Bill Clinton would only "drop by" meetings with other officials.
The Dalai Lama met with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Tuesday as well as with the newly named special coordinator for Tibet, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky.
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