The Dalai Lama has said he accepts Chinese sovereignty over Tibet and is no longer advocating independence for his homeland, but asserted that Tibet was "ruled by terror," an Indian media report said yesterday.
In an interview with the CNN-IBN TV network, the Tibetan spiritual leader claimed that the Chinese, among themselves, had different and contrasting views of Tibetan history, but added that regardless of the past he had accepted that Tibet was part of China.
"The past is past. When the People's Liberation Army came to Tibet, according to legal experts, Tibet was a de facto independent nation. Therefore, we consider it an occupied land. But that doesn't mean we are seeking independence," he said in the interview, which was published on the channel's Web site and is scheduled to be broadcast later.
"Tibet is a backward country, economically, materially. Therefore, for our own interest as far as material development is concerned, we want to remain within the People's Republic of China," he added.
The Dalai Lama's clarification comes after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's (
The Dalai Lama explained his idea of real autonomy for Tibet, mentioning that he wanted the Tibetans to control all aspects of their life, except foreign affairs and defense.
"I think many visitors to Tibet, including many Chinese, can see that Tibet is actually ruled by terror, the rule of terror. The Tibetans should have the final authority, except in foreign affairs and defense," the Dalai Lama told the channel.
"At present, on paper there's autonomy, but in reality every key position is occupied by Chinese, who have no idea of the past events, of Tibetan culture or Tibetan habits or mentality. Of course, there's no question [of understanding] the value of Tibetan spirituality," he added.
The Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled to India from his homeland in 1959 when Chinese communist troops cracked down on a Tibetan uprising against its occupation.
The 71-year-old leader has lived in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala with his government-in-exile since then. More than 70,000 Tibetan refugees are estimated to be living in India.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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