From CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Jaime FlorCruz
LHASA, Tibet – The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, has begun a three-week trip to the United States amid strong protests from China.
The visit kicks off in San Francisco Thursday, before he heads east and, more contentiously, to Washington.
Not only does Beijing object to the Dalai Lama’s scheduled meetings with senior U.S. administration officials — possibly including George W. Bush — it has sought assurances the religious leader not be allowed to address political issues.
Chief among those issues is the secession of Tibet from Beijing’s control.
“The Dalai Lama is not purely a religious figure. He has long been engaged in splittist activities,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan told CNN.
“The U.S. has stated it will not allow him to engage in splittist activities there and we urge the US to honor its commitments.”
A meeting with the U.S. President is also a sore point.
“We know very well what the Dalai Lama is up to. We are strongly opposed to President Bush seeing the Dalai Lama under any guise or in any capacity,” the Governor of Tibet Autonomous Region Jampa Phatsok said.
The Dalai Lama fled to India 44 years ago not long after the China’s army took control of Tibet.
China now views Tibet as a part of its territory and Beijing maintains a tight control on political dissent.
While Tibetan monks in the Himalayan region are permitted to debate Buddhist teachings, there is no public debate when it comes to the Dalai Lama. Even his picture has been banned.
In recent U.S.-China summits, American officials have urged China to talk with the Dalai Lama to break the impasse.
China has twice agreed to allow the Dalai Lama’s emissaries to visit Beijing and parts of Tibet. But the two sides remain far apart.
Tibetan officials say the Dalai Lama is welcome to return to his religious life in Tibet but he must first concede that Tibet and Taiwan are both part of China and come back as a patriotic Chinese citizen.
“What we haven’t seen so far is any sign from China that it’s willing to compromise on the preconditions that it has imposed,” Alison Reynolds, director of the Free Tibet Campaign, said.
