China Slams Upcoming Sarkozy-Dalai Lama Meeting
China has once again criticized plans by French President Sarkozy to meet with the Dalai Lama. Sarkozy canceled plans to meet with His Holiness during the Beijing Olympics. From AP:
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang reaffirmed Beijing’s opposition to any form of contact between Tibet’s exiled Buddhist leader and foreign heads of government.
“At present, China’s relations with both France and the EU are improving and developing. This hard-earned situation should be cherished,” Qin said in a statement posted on the ministry’s Web site.
“We urge the French side to proceed from the overall interest of bilateral relations,” Qin said. France should “take China’s major concern seriously and properly handle relevant issues so as to contribute to the stable development of China-France and China-EU relations,” he said.
Sarkozy said Thursday he would hold the long-awaited meeting with the Dalai Lama on Dec. 6 during a visit to Gdansk, Poland.
