China demands Obama cancel Dalai Lama meeting

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-demands-obama-cancel-dalai-lama-meeting/2014/02/21/536dc4dc-9aff-11e3-ad71-e03637a299c0_story.html


Charles Dharapak/ap - FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2010, file photo, the Dalai Lama walks out of the White House in Washington, after meeting with President Barack Obama. Obama will host Tibetan spiritual lea

By William Wan, Updated: Friday, February 21, 8:55 AM E-mail the writer

BEIJING — China has demanded the White House cancel a meeting between President Obama and the Dalai Lama scheduled for Friday, warning it would severely harm U.S.-China relations.

It will be Obama’s third such meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader since becoming president. Each has drawn severe criticism from China, which considers the Dalai Lama an anti-China separatist.

“The Dalai Lama is a political exile who has long been engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said in a statement Friday. “By arranging a meeting between the President and the Dalai Lama, the U.S. side will grossly interfere in the internal affairs of China, seriously violate norms governing international relations and severely impair China-U.S. relations.”

On Thursday, the White House played down the political aspect of the visit.

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