By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia – China on Wednesday protested the Dalai Lama’s visit to Mongolia, saying the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader used such trips abroad to further a drive for Tibetan independence.
The Dalai Lama, who arrived in Mongolia on Monday, gave a sermon before 10,000 people Wednesday in Mongolia’s capital, Ulan Bator.
Click here to find out more!
Mongolia has tried to keep the Dalai Lama’s visit low-key, emphasizing he is in the country purely for religious purposes and will not take part in political activities.
China regards the Dalai Lama as a separatist intent on freeing Tibet from Chinese rule.
He is not “a simple or pure religious figure,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement published by official media. “He is a political exile who undertakes secessionist activities abroad.” The statement did not mention Mongolia by name.
The Dalai Lama will spend much of his weeklong visit in Mongolia in closed meetings aimed at settling factional rivalries among Mongolian Buddhists and resolving disputes on issues such as marriage for clergy.
He spoke for two hours Wednesday to an audience of all ages seated in the grassy infield of the Central Stadium in Ulan Bator. Audience members sat under the bright sun, holding their hands in prayer and raising blue, white and yellow silk scarves in a traditional greeting.
“Humans cannot gain happiness through material things. We must purify our thoughts and minds to find true happiness,” said the Dalai Lama, seated on a lotus-shaped throne atop a stage.
Mongolians have strong historical links to Tibet and have traditionally followed Tibet’s esoteric, or Tantric, school of Buddhism, of which the Dalai Lama is the leader. His visits have been credited with helping revive Buddhist institutions that were all but wiped out over six decades of communism.
“He is close to the hearts of all Mongolians and has divine qualities that can fulfill our dreams and wishes,” said Shurejav, Mongolia’s poet laureate, who met previously with the Dalai Lama at the seat of his government-in-exile in the Indian town of Dharmsala.
During the Dalai Lama’s last visit in 2002, rail service from China to Mongolia was cut for two days. China blamed unspecified technical problems, but the move was widely seen as Chinese retribution. Mongolia relies on Chinese transport links for much of its foreign trade, including its main export, copper.
On Tuesday, an Air China flight from Beijing to Ulan Bator was delayed for more than 12 hours, but it wasn’t clear if there was any connection to the Dalai Lama’s visit. Airline officials blamed bad weather, although skies above Ulan Bator were sunny from midday on.
Associated Press writer Ganbat Namjil contributed to this report.
