73 posts tagged “news”

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official has asked whether Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama would agree to attend the Beijing Olympics to ease recent tensions, a Tibet government-in-exile legislator said on Monday.

The Dalai Lama would consider going, the law maker said.

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Dalai Lama envoy upbeat on China talks

An envoy of the Dalai Lama said on Tuesday that one-day talks with China on the unrest in Tibet had been "a good first step" and that the two sides would meet again after he reports back to the exiled spiritual leader......

Despite some skepticism among analysts over whether the recent diplomatic overture would yield any substantive breakthrough given the failure of previous talks, the two Tibetan envoys struck a positive note following the meeting with Chinese negotiators they've known for years.

"We had very candid discussions ... we have a good rapport, so that is always very helpful," Lodi Gyari told Reuters at Hong Kong airport as he prepared to board a flight for India, home of the Tibet government-in-exile.

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Philip says:

China doesn’t care what you think:

China has stepped up persecution of Buddhist monks with mass detentions, Tibet activists said Wednesday, as China prepares to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - ::link Envoys of the Dalai Lama will travel to China to meet the government over the crisis in Tibet, the government-in-exile said on Friday.

"During this brief visit, the envoys will take up the urgent issue of the current crisis in the Tibetan areas," the government-in-exile said in a statement on its Web site.

After a crackdown on protests against Chinese rule in Tibet, an international diplomatic chorus earlier this year urged dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Beijing abruptly announced in late April that it intended to meet his aides.

The envoys are due to arrive in China on Saturday for what the Tibetan side called "informal talks".

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TibetInfoNet Update 29 April 2008

.....and getting down to business:

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (Reuters) - With his shirt-sleeves rolled up, Democrat Barack Obama unveiled signs of a new campaigning style on Monday as he sought to win over elusive working-class voters who have largely backed his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Obama, a senator from Illinois and the national front-runner for his party's White House nomination, lost last week's Pennsylvania primary election to rival Clinton, a senator from New York, largely because of lukewarm support from blue-collar workers.

Obama said on Friday he would fine-tune his campaign and remind people of his humble roots.

On Monday, with his tie on but coat off, Obama did just that. He spoke about religion, reminded listeners he had been raised by a single mother and told the crowd he wanted to take their questions rather than spend time giving a long speech.

"I want you to be able to lift the hood, and kick the tires, you know, take me out for a test drive a little bit," he said at the beginning of his first event.

The event was one example in a handful of incidents that show Obama adjusting to a prolonged state-by-state nominating process in which he has not been able to knock Clinton out despite his lead in votes and delegates who determine the party's nominee in the November election.

Chinese officials will meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism who China blames for a wave of unrest, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday, citing official sources.

"In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days," Xinhua quoted an official as saying.

China denounces the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile after a failed 1959 uprising against Communist rule, as a traitor but since the anti-government unrest began in March it has been under pressure to resume dialogue with his envoys.

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Good news to hear that -

HARARE (Reuters) - A shipment of Chinese arms bound for Zimbabwe will be recalled after South African workers refused to unload the vessel and other neighboring countries barred it from their ports, China said on Thursday.

The recall of the An Yue Jiang, carrying 77 tonnes of assault rifle ammunition, mortars and rifle grenades, came after unprecedented regional opposition in addition to Western pressure over Zimbabwe's election crisis.

The Zenkoji temple in Nagano was to be the starting point for the Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

A famous Buddhist temple in Japan has been withdrawn from the Olympic flame relay over security concerns and anger at China's crackdown on Tibetans.

The Zenkoji temple in the city of Nagano said it had received 1,000 letters from across Japan calling for it to withdraw from the April 26 procession after the crackdown in predominantly Buddhist Tibet, where monasteries were raided and monks arrested.

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Avaaz message:

Dear Friends,

The Beijing Olympics are a crucial chance to persuade China's leaders to support dialogue and human rights in Tibet, as well as Burma and Darfur, and we need to seize it.

China wants the Olympics to be a coming out party for a newly modern, powerful, and respectable nation. But the Olympics are about humanity and excellence--we can't celebrate them in good conscience while ignoring the suffering of Tibetans and others.

So Avaaz is launching a major new campaign: SAVE THE OLYMPICS. We'll ask China to save the Olympics for all of us, by making specific, reasonable progress in dialogue with the Dalai Lama, securing release of Burmese and Tibetan political prisoners, and supporting peacekeeping in Darfur.
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