Dalai Lama: Chinese Slowly Warming To Autonomous Tibet

LOS ANGELES – The Dalai Lama was in Los Angeles Saturday, where he told the Los Angeles Times he is seeing more support for autonomy for Tibet among Chinese intellectuals, although the Chinese government is still “hardened” against him.

The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism arrived in Los Angeles Friday to lend his support to Whole Child International, a nonprofit that helps orphaned and abandoned children.

He arrived in the Southland after meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., despite efforts by the Chinese to stop the meeting.

In an interview with The Times, he conceded there has been no progress in talks with China over greater autonomy for Tibet.

But he said he is hopeful that progress can be made because numerous Chinese intellectuals and writers are openly supporting what he called “our middle way approach” and criticizing the government’s policy.

He said Chinese intellectuals are more sympathetic to Tibet because of pro-autonomy demonstrations in 2008 that were put down violently by Chinese authorities.

The 14th Dalai Lama was the leader of Tibet before going into exile in India in 1959, where he heads a government in exile.

Sitting cross-legged and barefoot, and speaking in English in the presidential suite of a Beverly Hills hotel, he told The Times that he met with Obama because “it was my duty to inform or report what the situation was in the relationship with the Chinese government.”

Sunday, he is scheduled to give a public address at the Gibson Amphitheatre, where he will be joined by singer Sheryl Crow.

The Dalai Lama says he is not offended by the low-key reception he received from President Obama on his visit earlier this week to the White House.

The exiled spiritual leader told the Associated Press on Saturday that he understands Obama must be practical in juggling his desire for human rights in Tibet, while not angering China, a growing economic power.

Obama hosted the Dalai Lama on Thursday but kept the get-together off-camera and low-key in an attempt to avoid inflaming tensions with China.

China accuses the Dalai Lama of seeking to remove Tibet from Chinese rule and objects strongly to all his contact with foreign leaders.

The Dalai Lama says that in the “last six decades my heart hardened” and he considers a face-to-face meeting more important than diplomatic stagecraft.