The German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer has reaffirmed Gernmany’s ‘One-China’ policy during a meeting with the Dalai Lama, saying that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic.
However, a spokesman said Mr Fischer had assured the Tibetan spiritual leader that Germany supported Tibetan demands for religious and cultural autonomy.
The Dalai Lama is in Berlin to take part in a festival bringing together Germany’s Protestant and Catholic churches for the first time.
In 1959, the Dalai Lama and his followers fled Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and set up base in northern India.
Three decades later he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent opposition to Beijing’s presence in Tibet.
Now the Dalai Lama is now seeking Tibetan autonomy within China rather than independence and has been publicly supportive of re-engaging with Beijing.
China, which has occupied Tibet since 1951, has been accused of trying to wipe out Tibet’s Buddhist-based culture through political and religious repression and a flood of ethnic Chinese immigration.
