Dalai Lama Meeting: Chinese Reaction
Feb 21, 2010
President Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama at the White House this week put further strain on the Sino/US relationship. Beijing reacted angrily to the closed-doors meeting, by saying it had "seriously harmed" relations and summoning the American ambassador in Beijing to protest.
The denunciation came shortly after Obama pledged to support Tibetan rights in his White House talks with the leader of Tibetan Buddhist leader.
It's an issue that really divides American and Chinese opinion. CNN recently did a poll that showed the three quarters of Americans think Tibet should be an independent country. The poll also found that 53 percent of Americans think its more important to take a stand on human rights than to maintain good ties with China. Here, of course, people's opinions are very different.
Tags: Dalai Lama,Chinese Reaction,Obama,White House,Tibetan Rights