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Tibetan Leader Meets Obama
[Quqnoos] Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is expected to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on ThursdayChina has urged the Obama administration to scrap plans for the meeting, which is viewed in Beijing as another irritant in relations between the United States and China. Tensions between the two countries have arisen over issues from trade to currencies to the US plan to sell 6.4 billion of weapons to Taiwan. China vowed last week to impose unspecified sanctions against American companies selling arms to Taiwan and curtail military-to-military contacts. China regards the spiritual leader as a separatist who is fermenting unrest in Tibet. Mindful of Chinese sensitivities, Obama held off meeting the Dalai Lama until after he first met Chinese leaders during a trip to Asia in November. Further, in a nod to diplomatic courtesy, Obama will not receive the Dalai Lama in the Oval Office of the White House and will, instead, greet him in the Map Room, a space which is generally used for social occasions. China has recently become increasingly vocal in opposing meetings between foreign leaders and the Dalai Lama. Washington has said it accepts Tibet is a part of China but wants Beijing to sit down with the Dalai Lama to address differences over the region's future. Posted by: Fred 2010-02-19 |
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