The Dalai Lama warned major countries yesterday not to try to contain China's economic and military rise and urged countries like Australia to use their trading clout to pressure Beijing on human rights.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, speaking in Canberra, said he shared concerns about growing strategic and trade ties between the US, India, Japan and Australia, which Beijing has interpreted as moves toward encirclement.
"It is absolutely wrong to isolate China and also contain China. It's wrong, morally also wrong," the Dalai Lama told the Australian National Press Club.
"China must be brought into the mainstream of the world community, and now fortunately China themselves [sic] want to join the world community. Most welcome. Very good," he said.
"However ... while you are making good relations, genuine friendship with China, certain principles such as human rights and also democracy, rule of law, free press, these things you should stand firm. That means you are a true friend of China," he said.
The US, Japan and Australia have said their growing defense ties are not aimed at containing China, even though India last month joined the three in security talks.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and pro-China Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd said yesterday they would ignore pressure from the Chinese embassy in Canberra not to meet the Tibetan Buddhist leader, despite vague warnings of repercussions.
Howard and Rudd initially said they would not meet the Dalai Lama during his 10-day visit to Australia, which began last week.
But following accusations of kowtowing to China, they both said they would check their diaries to see whether they had time.
Howard found he could make time to meet the Dalai Lama on Friday in Sydney. Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat, met him yesterday at a Canberra hotel.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (
"The Dalai is not a purely religious figure; he is a long-term political exile who engages in splitting the motherland and sabotaging unity among ethnic groups," Qin said.
"We express our strong dissatisfaction and stern representations over Australia ignoring China and insisting on allowing the Dalai to engage in activities in Australia," he said.
The Australia Tibet Council urged Rudd, who is riding high in the polls, to support greater autonomy for Tibet if he won power in a general election later this year.
But China warned Australia against supporting Tibet.
"The issues of the Dalai and Tibet are absolutely not human rights issues, but issues about separatism and anti-separatism. We hope that the Australian government will be able to fully understand this issue," Qin said.
The Dalai Lama admitted China's fast-growing world influence was hampering his access to some world leaders to press demands for greater autonomy -- not independence -- for his homeland.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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