His Holiness the Dalai Lama meets Chinese democratsSaturday, 6 June 2009, 10:15 a.m.

Amsterdam: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Thursday (4 June) held a private meeting with members of the Chinese democracy movement in Amsterdam. During the meeting there was an extremely open and enthusiastic discussion on His Holiness’ political vision, the need for Tibetan-Chinese dialogue and the need for genuine reform in China. His Holiness said that trust was crucial between Tibetans and Chinese, in order to reach a solution for Tibet.His Holiness felt that the CCP was caught in a contradiction; in order to respect their own constitution, they must acknowledge Tibetan rights and the basic premise of the Middle Way. To resolve this, it was necessary for the CCP to portray His Holiness as a separatist who represents a danger to the integrity of China.His Holiness also described his meetings with Chairman Mao and his initial respect for the CCP, but acknowledged that while aspects of Marxism were initially attractive, a wide gap quickly opened between ideology and implementation.His Holiness urged Chinese to be active in discussing the Tibetan situation, because informed Chinese can provide greater weight and credibility to the discussion in their communities. Some Chinese participants described how in China there are officials and even military personnel who carry hidden pictures of His Holiness, but keep their views silent.His Holiness described some positive signs in the Sino-Tibetan relationship, for example he noted the offer of some Chinese lawyers to represent Tibetans detained after the March 2008 unrest – His Holiness noted that such an offer would have been unimaginable some years ago.His Holiness also mentioned about the increasing number of Chinese from Mainland China attending his teachings – some even remind him that he must not forget Chinese Buddhists.Earlier in the day, His Holiness began a teaching series on Shantideva’s Guide to the Boddhisattva’s Way of Life, followed by a public lecture on “The Power of Compassion in Turbulent Times”. The events were held at the RAI Exhibition & Convention Centre in Amsterdam and over 10.000 people attended each of the events, with many hundreds more watched on screens in a nearby auditorium.–Report prepared by Stewart Watters, International Campaign for Tibet