|
THE SNOW LION NEWSLETTER
Photo Courtesy of Associated Press
|
Dalai Lama Wants to Make First China Visit
by Ashwini Bhatia, writer for
Associated Press
Dharamsala, India - The Dalai Lama said Friday that he has asked China to let him visit the country for the first time since he fled Tibet nearly a half-century ago.
His comments came in an address to thousands of followers on the anniversary of the 1959 uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule, which marked the beginning of his exile.
The supreme Tibetan spiritual leader, 70, did he did not specify an itinerary, but said he wanted to make a pilgrimage. His envoys, who recently returned from talks with officials in China, had conveyed his request to the Chinese government, he said. |
"As a country with a long history of Buddhism, China has many sacred pilgrim sites," he told his followers. "As well as visiting the pilgrim sites, I hope I will be able to see for myself the changes and developments in the People's Republic of China."
"I have stated time and again that I do not wish to seek Tibet's separation from China, but that I will seek its future within the framework of the Chinese constitution," the Dalai Lama said.
In Beijing, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman reached by telephone had no immediate response.
* * *
More about the Dalai Lama . . .
To read more about about His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and his activities, visit:
www.snowlionpub.com/pages/dalailama.html
To learn more about the Dalai Lama's World Peace Initiative, visit His Holiness's website to promote world peace at www.dalailama.com
For an updated biography of His Holiness the Dalai Lama visit The Office of Tibet New York's website at www.tibetoffice.org.
You can also view His Holiness's updated 2006 teaching events at: www.tibetoffice.org/en/index.php...
The Dalai Lama is the contributor to and author of numerous books, including:
|
 |
