Dalai Lama Says Nothing to Hide
Dalai Lama Says Nothing to Hide From China
Press Release: Tibet govt in exile
website: http://www.tibet.com
TAIPEI,
31 Mar - Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama,
arrived in
Taiwan amid protests on Saturday and said he
has nothing to hide from Beijing,
which has accused him
of colluding with the island's separatists.
``I want
someone from Peking (to) come here while I'm here and watch
my
movement here and investigate whether I (am) involved
(in) some kind of
anti-Chinese activities,'' the Dalai
Lama told a packed news conference,
using Beijing's old
name. On the eve of the Dalai Lama's arrival,
the
flagship newspaper of China's Communist Party had accused
him of
colluding with Taiwan separatists. The
globetrotting Buddhist monk
said he is not seeking
Tibet's independence from China, which has ruled
his
Himalayan homeland with an iron fist since 1950. He said
China was
a great nation with a huge population -- the
world's most populous at
1.3 billion -- but that its
rigid authoritarian system was not the
answer to its
many problems. Attempts by Chinese authorities to
hide
information or give just one side of the story was
not the right way to
face problems, he added. Favor
Democracy, Openness ``I always favor
democracy,
openness,'' said the ochre-robed Buddhist monk, who
swayed
in his seat while an interpreter translated his
remarks.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate said Taiwan
should maintain a close
relationship with its giant
communist rival. ``Taiwan should have
one very unique,
close relationship with mainland China because
of the
economy and because of the political situation...and
defense,''
the Dalai Lama said. Beijing has claimed
sovereignty over Taiwan since
routing Chiang Kai-shek's
Nationalist troops in a civil war on the
mainland in
1949. The Dalai Lama's March 31 to April 9 visit
has
inflamed political and religious passions on the
island of 23 million.
He was greeted by supporters and
protesters on arrival at Taiwan's airport.
A tiny group
of activists for reunification with China shouted
anti-Dalai
Lama slogans and scuffled with police when
they tried to storm the plush
Taipei hotel, where he is
staying. ``If he is indeed a holy monk,
he should not be
staying in a T$41,000 (US$1,200) a day presidential
suite,''
Wang Chin-ping, vice-chairman of the Alliance
for the Reunification of China,
told Reuters. ``He's
here to grab money,'' the university lecturer
said,
denouncing island-wide mass ``enlightenment''
lectures to be presided over
by the Dalai Lama. Taiwan's
Buddhist Association, which organized the
lectures, has
sold out 30,000 tickets for T$1,000 each. Near the
hotel,
a group of activists from the other end of
Taiwan's political spectrum,
seeking to marshal the Dalai
Lama to their independence cause, staged a
counter-protest chanting: ''Free Tibet. Free Taiwan.''
The Dalai Lama
has tried to play down the political
significance of his second visit to
Taiwan apparently to
avoid antagonizing Beijing. But the visit will
inevitably take on a political tone when he meets Taiwan
President
Chen Shui-bian of the pro-independence
Democratic Progressive Party
next week. Beijing has
threatened to attack Taiwan if it declared
independence
or dragged its feet on unification talks. Taiwan Vice
President
Annette Lu has said the island's ties with
rival China would enter a
`sensitive period'' due in
part to the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit.
The Dalai
Lama fled his Himalayan homeland after an abortive
uprising
against Chinese rule in 1959 and won the Nobel
Peace Prize three decades
later for his peaceful campaign
for autonomy.
ENDS