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| By Arun Kumar |
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Thursday, February 18, 2010 (23:24:14) |
| Tags : Obama, Dalai Lama, China, US |
Obama meets Dalai Lama, defying Chinese warnings
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| Washington: President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama today, defying warnings from Beijing that it could further strain US-Sino relations amid tension over US arms sales to Taiwan and claims of Chinese cyber-spying.
President Obama, who failed to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader last year to keep Beijing in good humour ahead of his first state visit to China in November, met the Dalai Lama in the White House Map Room instead of his Oval Office to indicate the unofficial nature of the meeting.
Ahead of the visit, the Dalai Lama's special envoy, Lodi Gayari, said Wednesday the Tibetan spiritual leader would be asking the US president to "help find a solution in resolving the Tibet issue that would be mutually beneficial to the Tibetan and Chinese people."
But it was "important in itself that the meeting is happening," he said. Gayari stressed that the Dalai Lama agreed with Obama's decision not to meet him last October, but said that "we had a lot of misgivings."
Meanwhile, a new national CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released today said nearly three-quarters of all Americans think that Tibet should be an independent country.
But the survey also indicates that most Americans think it is more important to maintain good relations with China than to take a stand on Tibet. (IANS) |
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