Taiwan raises China tension with Dalai Lama invite

Taiwan risked China’s anger with a surprise invitation to let the Dalai Lama visit survivors of a devastating typhoon today.

The Dalai Lama, a constant irritant to China as a figurehead for Tibetan separatism, has accepted, his spokesman said.

President Ma Ying-jeou’s move was unexpected because he has made a priority of seeking better relations with China, and just last December scrapped plans for a visit by the Buddhist spiritual leader in what was deemed a move to placate Beijing.

But his government has come under fire over its slow response to Typhoon Morakot, which claimed 670 lives earlier this month, and opposition politicians in the storm zone pointedly invited the Tibetan spiritual leader to the island to console survivors.

The invitation gave Ma a dilemma, either risk angering China, or give further ammunition to the opposition, which accuses him of following Beijing’s line.

Today he said: “The Dalai Lama could come to Taiwan to help rest the souls of the dead and also pray for the well-being of the survivors”.

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a “splittist” for promoting autonomy in Tibet, and opposes visits to foreign countries that raise his profile. Allowing him to visit Taiwan could undermine the rapidly improving relations between Beijing and Taipei.

China claims self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory, though they split amid civil war in 1949.

Since becoming president 15 months ago, Ma has reversed many of his predecessor’s anti-China policies, tightening economic links across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait and even speaking of a peace treaty with Beijing.

A presidential spokesman said the Dalai Lama’s visit would be strictly religious, with no political overtones.

“We welcome the Dalai Lama to come to Taiwan to take part in mass prayers,” he said, adding the visit was approved “for humanitarian and religious considerations ... and we believe it will not harm cross-Strait relations.”

Ma’s policy of seeking better relations with China contrasts sharply with the opposition DPP’s strong support for formal independence for the island of 23 million people.

That stance infuriates Beijing, which has repeatedly warned that any move to make the Taiwan-China split permanent would lead to war.

Taiwan and Tibet share similar histories. Both are territories that Beijing believes should be under its rule. Despite a failed 1959 uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile, China controls Tibet and has refused the Tibetan religious leader’s request for greater autonomy.