China calls Dalai Lama names

NEW DELHI: China on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against the Dalai Lama, accusing him of anti-China bias for undertaking a visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

In an attack that steered clear of criticising India, Beijing accused the Dalai Lama of trying to undermine ties between India and China and called the visit a ���separatist action���. ���We have expressed our grave concerns. We believe that this once again exposes the nature of the Dalai Lama as anti-China,��� foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. Avoiding a diplomatic confrontation with India, the spokesman maintained that the Dalai Lama���s scheme to wreck China���s relations with India would come to nothing.

���We firmly oppose the visits of the Dalai Lama to the border regions... this is a separatist action,��� he added.
The Tibetan spiritual leader, whose seven-day visit to Arunachal starts on Saturday, will visit the monastery in Tawang, which Beijing has long claimed as its own. China���s unease with the Dalai Lama���s trip to Tawang stems from the fact the sixth Dalai Lama came from the region and there are concerns that the Dalai Lama might name a successor.

India and China had engaged in a war of words over the visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh with China lodging a strong protest with India over the matter. But PM Manmohan Singh during a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had brought down the political temperature.

Mr Singh had maintained that the Dalai Lama is a honoured guest of India. But the Chinese side had been assured that the Dalai Lama would not be allowed to take part in any political activities and that his visit to Tawang was apolitical.

The high pitch of the latest attack is also being seen as a reaction to remarks by the Dalai Lama accusing Beijing of ���politicising his visit���. During his visit to Japan, the Tibetan spiritual leader had accused Beijing of overreacting to a teaching visit and had accused China of misleading the world on Tibet. When asked a question on whether his successor could be found in Tawang, the Dalai Lama had taken a dig at China.

���If I was Communist then I would have to be concerned about my successor, but I���m not a Communist,��� he said. He had also backed India���s claims to Arunachal by pointing out that after the 1962 war, PLA withdrew from the state. ���...they announced a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew, accepting the current international boundary,��� the spiritual leader said.

India, which continues to face criticism of being soft towards China, does not want the Dalai Lama to make any political statement in India, particularly in Tawang where he is scheduled to hold a press conference. China will be closely watching the visit.

Nevertheless, China���s protests have not brought down the enthusiasm in Arunachal. In fact, Arunachal CM Dorjee Khandu on Wednesday said the Tibetan spiritual leader will be accorded the honour of ���state guest��� during his week-long tour beginning November 7.

���He will be a state guest. He will visit Tawang, Itanagar and some other places,��� Mr Khandu said.