China decries Barack Obama's plan to meet Dalai Lama

China has again urged the United States to cancel a planned meeting between President Barack Obama and the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The two men will meet at the White House on 18 February, US spokesman Robert Gibbs has confirmed.

He said the Sino-US relationship was mature enough to disagree while finding common ground on international issues.

China had already said that such a meeting would seriously undermine relations with the United States.

Mr Gibbs said the Dalai Lama was "an internationally respected religious leader".

"He's a spokesman for Tibetan rights. The president looks forward to an engaging and constructive meeting," he said.

"We think we have a mature enough relationship with the Chinese that we can agree on mutual interests, but also have a mature enough relationship that we know the two countries are not always going to agree on everything."

China reacted quickly to the announcement through its Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu.

"We firmly oppose the Dalai Lama visiting the United States and US leaders having contact with him," Mr Ma said.

"We urge the US side to fully understand the high sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, and honour its commitment to recognise Tibet as part of China and to oppose 'Tibet independence'," he added.

"China urges the US... to immediately call off the wrong decision of arranging for President Obama to meet with the Dalai Lama... to avoid any more damage to Sino-US relations." ...

via BBC News - China decries Barack Obama's plan to meet Dalai Lama.

Does China not understand how the USA came to exist in the first place? We exist because the King George III of England was a tyrannical a control freak  tax-o-holic (as are some Brits today. see 100% death tax) and we demanded, fought for, and won our independence. What is the deal with Tibet?

Image: Chinese sign: "Police Attention: No distributing any unhealthy thoughts or objects." Nyalam, Tibet, 1993.

Tibet is situated between the two ancient civilizations of China and India, separated from the former by the mountain ranges to the east of the Tibetan Plateau and from the latter by the towering Himalayas. Tibet is nicknamed "the roof of the world" or "the land of snows". ...

Following the Lhasa uprising and the Dalai Lama's flight from Tibet in 1959, the government of India was politically pressured by Britain and US to accept the Tibetan refugees. India designated land for the refugees in the mountainous region of Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile are now based.

The plight of the Tibetan refugees garnered international attention when the Dalai Lama, spiritual and religious leader of the Tibetan government in exile, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Prize on the basis of his unswerving commitment to peaceful protest against the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

He is highly regarded as a result and has since been received by government leaders throughout the world. Among the most recent ceremonies and awards, he was given the Congressional Gold Medal by President Bush in 2007, and in 2006 he was one of only three people to ever receive an honorary Canadian citizenship (see [3]. The PRC consistently protests each official contact with the exiled Tibetan leader.

The community of Tibetans in exile established in Dharamsala and Karnataka, South India, has expanded since 1959. Tibetans have duplicated Tibetan monasteries in India and now house tens of thousands of monks. They have also created Tibetan schools, hospitals, and published the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives—all aimed at continuing Tibetan tradition and culture. Tibetan festivals such as Lama dances, celebration of Losar, the Tibetan New Year, and the Monlam continue in exile. ...
- wikipedia history of Tibet