Word: lamas
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...Buddhist, the only thing we can do is pray for them," the Dalai Lama said to a group of reporters following him to Siaolin. This week, the Tibetan spiritual leader has come to Taiwan to pray and console. Unlike his first two visits in 1997 and 2001, when he met with incumbent presidents Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, both advocates of independence for the island, he won't be meeting or even crossing paths with President Ma Ying-jeou, who has been drawing Taiwan closer to China. (See pictures from the Dalai Lama's 60 years of leading...
...Dalai Lama was invited by local opposition leaders in southern Taiwan to come and visit the victims. Morakot hit Taiwan on August 8th and left at least 568 dead or missing and over 7000 homeless. The island has been angry at the government's slow relief efforts and is in pain from the loss of their loved ones and homes. For Ma, whose approval ratings have hit an all time low in Morakot's aftermath, rejecting the Tibetan leader's visit - as he did last December - would have been political suicide. A recent poll shows that sixty percent of Taiwan...
...even as the Dalai Lama reiterated that he had come on purely humanitarian grounds, politics was very much on the minds of the people following him around Siaolin. Nearly a hundred reporters shadowed him on the long drive to the remote village in the mountains. After his prayers, they asked him about Tibet's own relations with China. "We Tibetans are not seeking separation," he replied. The Dalai Lama has been pursuing "meaningful autonomy" for Tibet and the preservation of his people's culture and religion, but China sees him as a separatist, and is wary of his interaction...
...Since he came into office last year, Ma has sought closer ties with China and has succeeded - now Taiwan and China have direct transportation, financial and cultural exchanges. The Dalai Lama praised the warming of ties between Taiwan and China. "Things are moving better, that's good," he said on Monday. "The Taiwanese should have a very close and unique link to China, but at the same time, Taiwan enjoys democracy - that you must preserve...
...boarding the high-speed railway to the south. The next morning, across from his hotel, aborigine protestors held banners saying he was just doing "lip service," unlike other religious volunteers who were helping them rebuild their homes. When reporters asked him what he thought of the protests, the Dalai Lama cheerfully responded, "Wonderful. These people enjoy freedom of expression and thought. I love that...