Taiwan invites Dalai Lama and Beijing explodes warning of very serious consequences
A Taipei deputy asks the Tibetan Buddhist leader to visit the island for a series of religious conferences. China reacts promising "disasters" over the Strait and warns: "Anyone who claims the 'from monaco wolf dressed' and its separatist is our enemy."
Taipei (AsiaNews) - The Dalai Lama "is a monk in wolf’s clothes, with his gang of separatists and terrorists trying to destabilize China and Tibet. But we will not stand by and watch: anyone who supports him is our enemy” said the Chinese spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs, Ma Xiaoguang, in response to the Tibetan Buddhist leader having been invited to Taipei by a deputy. Although the anti-Dalai Lama rhetoric is always very colorful, and Tibetan and even Indian press covering the story today underscore the "excessive force" with which Beijing has expressed its opposition.
Freddy Lim was elected in January in the ranks of the Democratic Progressive Party, today the Government of Taiwan. At a hearing in Dharamsala he invited the Nobel Peace Laureate to visit his country to hold a cycle of workshops and conferences. Lim is known for his criticism of the Chinese Communist regime; his assistant Kenny Chang made it clear that the invitation "comes from the desire to share his religious philosophy". But the spokesman, at a press conference, described the purpose as "an excuse" and promised "serious consequences" across the Taiwan Straits.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister David Lee made it clear that if the Dalai Lama were to accept the invitation, "it will follow the appropriate procedures". The last visit of Tenzin Gyatso to the island dates back to 2009. The caution has to do with Beijing's attitude, which has always used economic, political and diplomatic strictures to prevent the head of the "cult of yellow hats” from travelling abroad.
At present, the XIV Dalai Lama is in Europe for a series of lectures, during which will visit Belgium, Lithuania, France and Italy. Despite China's accusations, he is the first of his lineage to have given up all political power - now firmly in the hands of the Tibetan government in exile in India - and has always urged his followers not to seek independence, but simply call for linguistic and cultural autonomy. He also condemned the self-immolations taking place in Tibet: "Find a way to express your pain – he has repeatedly said to Buddhists in the region - but without sacrificing your life, which is sacred."
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