China condemns Dalai Lama ahead of planned talks

Beijing called the Dalai Lama a criminal yesterday, as representatives of the exiled Buddhist leader gathered for a meeting today in China to discuss the most serious unrest in Tibet for nearly two decades.

The condemnation suggested the government was in no mood to compromise following riots and protests in Tibet which have shaken China's preparations for the Beijing Olympics and stoked Western criticism of its rule in the mountain region.

"Patriotic people of Tibet strongly condemn and vehemently denounce the litany of crimes committed by the 14th Dalai Lama and his followers," said the official Tibet Daily, according to the region's official news website (www.chinatibetnews.com).

Chhime Chhoekyapa, a senior aide to the Dalai Lama, said the venue for the meeting was Shenzhen, a southern town across the border from Hong Kong. Security was tight outside the state guesthouse where the talks were expected to be held.

"We can't have great expectations" about the talks, he told Reuters in Dharamsala, the Indian headquarters of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

There have been six rounds of dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama's envoys since 2002 with no breakthrough.

Xinhua news agency said the talks would begin today.