By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Chinese leaders say yesterday’s meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama caused “serious damage” to relations between the two countries.

The New York Times is reporting that the White House went out of its way to keep the meeting between the two leaders very low-key. They allowed only one photograph to be taken of the Persident with the Tibetan spiritual leader and made sure the meeting was held in the Map Room of the White House rather than in the Oval Office, which would have make it look more like a state visit.

The Dalai Lama, who is revered as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, has lived in exile in India since the communist Chinese Army crushed an uprising in his native Tibet in 1959. He is advocating for greater cultural and religious freedoms for his followers.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that during the meeting, the President stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China.  He also commended the Dalai Lama’s commitment to nonviolence and pusuit of dialogue with the Chinese government.

“The President stressed that he has consistently encouraged both sides to engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks,” Gibbs said.

The Chinese government was not pleased with the meeting and immediatley summoned American ambassador Jon Huntsman to lodge a formal complaint about the meeting.

This latest action by the Obama administration follows another act of provocation made last month when the administration announced a $6 billion arms sales package to Taiwan, a move that also infuriated the Chinese.

Traditionally, U.S. presidents do not meet with the Dalai Lama out of deference for China. However President George Bush broke with that tradition in 2007 when he attended a ceremony in which Congress awarded the Dalai Lama a Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

After Thursday’s meeting, the Dalai Lama met with reporters and said he was pleased with the meeting, then took a moment to toss a few snowballs.
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