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Key won't meet Dalai Lama

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Wed, 18 Nov 2009 4:36p.m.

The Dalai Lama (Reuters)

The Dalai Lama (Reuters)

Prime Minister John Key has decided not to meet Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, when he visits in December.

Mr Key said he had received an invitation to meet the Dalai Lama, but had decided against accepting.

"I may in the future, but I have met with him in the past and decided on this occasion there is no particular need to meet with him," Mr Key said.

China always objects to senior political leaders meeting the Dalai Lama as he represents opposition to China's occupation of Tibet.

Mr Key said the issue had not been raised by the Chinese leadership at recent Apec and Asean meetings, but he had told President Hu Jintao that he would not be meeting the Dalai Lama on this occasion.

"We would understand the way the Chinese would deal with these things, but on the other side of the coin that wasn't the over-riding factor. There are a number of factors involved," Mr Key said.

Mr Key believed no ministers would meet the Dalai Lama, but a representative from the National Party might.

He said he did not believe it would be seen as kowtowing to the Chinese as President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had also decided not to meet the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama will visit New Zealand at the invitation of the Tibetan Buddhist community of New Zealand.

He is due to visit Auckland on December 5 and 6 to give a public speech.

President Hu today referred to China's "sovereignty over Taiwan and other matters", with some analysts predicting China will demand the United States accept China's sovereignty over the restive frontier regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei, capital of self-ruled Taiwan, to Beijing in 1979 but remains the island's main arms supplier.

President Obama did not meet the Dalai Lama when the latter was in Washington in early October, but yesterday he urged China to resume talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives.

The Dalai Lama has said they may meet when the president returns from China.

The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India after an abortive uprising in 1959, nine years after Chinese troops marched into the Himalayan region.

NZPA
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Comments

19 Nov 2009 09:10p.m.

Stefanie wrote:

Come on John, time to stand for something other than money. Time to take a stand and be a leader. You won't go to Copenhagen, despite the science that says global warming is worse than predicted. You won't meet the Dalai Lama, despite the historic facts and the suffering of millions. Leadership takes compassion and vision, as well as fiscal responsibility. If you only want to deal with economic issues go back to being a money trader. You can't hide behind Rodney or the Maori Party or previous administrations this time - this is your call and you are failing New Zealand and the world.

19 Nov 2009 04:08p.m.

Jill wrote:

" The Asian influence has seen a proliferation of crime cameras in downtown Auckland"?? Kevin Crossley, you finally show your racist colour! Your lies about Tibet fool no one. You don't give a damn about Tibetan, you just want to bash asian for you racist desire. You are the one that should go to any university library in NZ and check your fact about Dalai Lama.

19 Nov 2009 12:02p.m.

Kevin Crossley wrote:

To May: Both I and my wife have been to Tibet and seen the openly aggressive PLA officers along with the blue-suited, white-gloved police marching menacingly around in single file. We were warned on more than one occasion not to make eye contact for fear of attracting their attention. Those are not traffic cams around the Jokhang! What possible threat to Chinese security can a handful of monks and nuns be? That Tibet is vastly wealthy with its mineral deposits could very well be the reason to plunder the country. Where did all the gold from the 6000 temples disappear to? You should learn a little more about Tibet yourself before you unwittingly adhere to the Party line, shame on you! "thousands of years belonging to China" Not so, first it's less than a thousand years sice Genghis Khan and his four sons did their trip. One small part became China and then China has ever since tried to increase its sphere of influence both south and west. Why the trouble in the Uighar recently. They can't all be wrong. Check your facts! At least here in New Zealand you wont be persecuted for going to the library or online for that matter, to check on your heritage because we don't censor the internet here. Tell us a little about your background in Tibet. It sounds to me like your are just another Chinese military dependant who has been allowed to come to the West to glean some of the many pearls of wisdom available from our schooling system. Don't be afraid of our government, this is a democracy although it doesn't seem like it sometimes. The Asian influence has seen a proliferation of crime cameras in downtown Auckland which were not part of our culture when I was growing up. If the Chinese secret police are snooping around websites such as this, they have sunk to new lows in the West!

19 Nov 2009 11:21a.m.

Frances wrote:

I am incredibly disappointed that Mr Key has refused to meet with the Dalai Lama, after promising that he would do so if elected. The point of democracy is for the people to have a say on the matters that are important to them and elect people they feel are going to address these issues. If he promises one thing then does another, especially with no identifiable reason other than bowing to pressure by an outside source, the whole system is being undermined. It is strange to say that he did not feel like it would be 'seen' as kowtowing to Chinese pressure if you did not meet with the Dalai Lama, since others have not done so. This seems extremely naive and insults the intelligence of the public! For one thing if he had truly made the decision independently, he would not feel the need to inform the Chinese that he had specifically chosen not to meet with their opposition. May we ask what these other reasons are? Simply saying there did not seem to be a need is weak, as there is clear indication of the wishes of the New Zealand people as one very good reason and his election promise as another. Not to mention considering how it must feel for the leader of a nation exiled and alone, to be given a promise and once again be shot down. As for citing what Obama and Rudd have done, I am reminded of the old saying "if your friends jump off a bridge.." New Zealad is famous for not bowing to pressure, take the nuclear testing by France for example or our stance against apartheid in South Africa. We are the country that first gave the vote to women! Now there are unimaginable atrocities happening under our noses, and John Key feels the need to go in the other direction and reassure the Chinese that he will not even have a cup of tea with the Dalai Lama. What has happened to our countries sense of right and wrong, and our admirable determination to make a stand against injustices? Even if it is something as small as having a friendly meeting with a peaceful and compassionate man, who is not asking anyone to go to war, but who needs to know that someone at least acknowledges his country's strife.

19 Nov 2009 10:33a.m.

Bean wrote:

New zealanders, if you think Tibet is a country then leave Nz, give the land back to Maori people, go back to Europe.

19 Nov 2009 10:30a.m.

Bob wrote:

If you believe Tibet and Taiwan are free countries, then NZ should be Maori's free country without white people.

19 Nov 2009 08:11a.m.

Teresa wrote:

PM Key is missing out on a great opportunity. I'm sick and tired people selling out human rights for a few bucks. We all need $ but integrity says a lot more about a country! Never dreamed NZ would succumb to China's BS. Tibet is a free country and so is Taiwan. John Key needs to keep his promises otherwise he's gonna end up where Phil Goff is right now. Very disappointed...

19 Nov 2009 02:58a.m.

Kevin Crossley wrote:

How can Mr Key on the one hand promise voters in his electorate that he would meet the Dalai Lama if he were elected PM, and then say to the New Zealand public that "there is no particular need to meet with him," It has to do with credibility John, if you say you will do something then you are honour-bound to actually do it, or prove yourself unreliable at best and a liar at the worst. "We would understand the way the Chinese would deal with these things”, what on earth are you trying to say, John? Or does this prevaricating make you uncomfortable? He goes on: “...but on the other side of the coin that wasn't the over-riding factor. There are a number of factors involved," Well, why not enumerate them? We know what the Communists would do. They do it with anyone who disagrees with their human rights record. Yes, the Chinese deal with people who object to their policies by putting them behind bars, or even worse, as they did with the Fonterra directors! Mr Key also apparently said the issue had not been raised by the Chinese leadership at recent Apec and Asean meetings, but he had told President Hu Jintao that he would not be meeting the Dalai Lama on this occasion. Why did he feel the need to reassure the Chinese premier. New Zealand doesn’t owe China $800 billion - yet. Couldn’t he just have keep his gob shut, or instead, urge the Chinese leadership to resume talks with the Dalai Lama's representatives as Obama had done, (overtly kowtowing to Hu Jintao,) and then, more to the point, come away from China without any tangible accord. There is still time for Mr. Key to decide to meet with His Holiness and there are at least 10,000 voters who will be at the Vector Arena in early December who will remember him for keeping his word. He could say by way of apology to Jintao, “ That’s the way it goes, sometimes!” Sort of dangerous for him to say those exact words to the people who actually voted him in. Is Hu Jintao a registered voter in New Zealand?

18 Nov 2009 11:43p.m.

May wrote:

Dalai is a cheater.But some people tend to believe his words. i don't understand why these people don't come to Tibet and see the people there by themselves. If the tibetan were still ruled totally by Dalai, they would still be slaves like the past. And Tibet has been all the way--for thousands of years belonging to China. They are just different ethnics, that doesn't mean tibetans are not Chinese. If you only fall for what Dalai said, you won't understand how tibentan's life has been changed to a much better place since the bureaucratic Dalai went away. Before the general tibentans led a tragic life,they could be killed as the local tyrant wished to. Please go there to have a visit then you will know whom should you support.

18 Nov 2009 10:47p.m.

France Komoroske wrote:

What a hypocrite. He personally promised me last year before the election that he would meet with the Dalai Lama in his capacity as Prime Minister if he were elected. The promise was reported in the Herald and repeatedly confirmed by his staff to me. Now that push has come to shove, Key has shown himself to be a typical politican -- say one thing to get elected and another when he gets into office. Shame on him.