From The Independent (link):
The Dalai Lama could be on the verge of a historic visit to the remote, mountainous homeland that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has not seen for nearly 50 years, following indications from the Chinese government that dialogue may, at last, be leading to a rapprochement.
But Tibetans are wary of Beijing’s tentative approach to the figure they regard as a god-king. The Dalai Lama fled the capital Lhasa in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, nine years after Communist troops entered Tibet.
The Chinese government has long proclaimed the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist, who wants to declare independence for 2.7 million Tibetans. Yesterday Ye Xiaowen, head of China’s powerful State Bureau of Religious Affairs, appeared to extend an olive branch when he said: “As long as the Dalai Lama makes it clear that he has completely abandoned Tibetan “independence”, it is not impossible for us to consider his visit. We can discuss it.”
