Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Australia
China
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Thailand
Vietnam
Search
Search:
Chinese media slams Sarkozy for Dalai Lama meeting
By GILLIAN WONG,Associated Press Writer AP - 57 minutes ago
BEIJING - China piled criticism Monday on French President Nicolas Sarkozy for meeting with the Dalai Lama, with a newspaper calling him "arrogant" a day after Beijing summoned the French ambassador to protest the meeting.
China routinely objects to meetings between foreign leaders and the exiled Tibetan leader, but the harsh language and official complaint came as China hardens its line toward the Himalayan region and steps up efforts to isolate the Dalai Lama internationally.
China's relations with the French have been especially testy over the issue of Tibet since April, when pro-Tibetan activists protested en masse in the streets of Paris as the Olympic flame passed through the city on its world tour. Some Chinese called for boycotts of French products afterward, but those calls were mostly ignored.
Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama on Saturday privately in Gdansk, Poland, during celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of former Polish President Lech Walesa's Nobel Peace Prize. The Dalai Lama has also received the prize. Sarkozy earlier played down the furor, saying, "There's no need to dramatize things."
China demanded Sarkozy cancel the meeting several times and called off a major China-EU summit earlier this month in protest.
"For whatever the consequences of his stunt will be, the arrogant French president has only himself to blame. He asked for it," the editorial in the English-language China Daily newspaper said. It added the meeting "calls into question all his previous efforts to repair ties and his personal credibility as well."
It said the government may still need to buy Airbus planes, but Chinese travelers may decide to avoid Paris.
"Nor can it make consumers buy from brand names they feel bad about, be it Louis Vuitton or Carrefour," it said.
On Sunday, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei summoned the French ambassador to China to say the meeting was "a rude intervention in Chinese internal affairs and has hurt the feelings of Chinese people gravely."
In Paris, France's government minister for human rights said Sunday that it wasn't worth turning the tensions into a "psychodrama."
"I don't see what there is to debate about," Rama Yade said on France's RTL radio, noting that other world leaders have also met the Dalai Lama.
The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner has met in recent months with President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, drawing protests and differing levels of economic and political retaliation from Beijing.
Trade retaliation is one of the most potent weapons in China's arsenal, and China's decision to postpone the summit has frustrated European business leaders. More than 150 Chinese business executives had been expected to meet with European counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting.
The China Daily quoted a French studies expert in China as saying the delegates were to purchase goods worth 10 billion euros ($13 billion).
"The delay of the summit also means a delay in these deals," said Wang Zhaohui of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.
China says Tibet has been part of its territory for more than seven centuries and denounces the Dalai Lama as a separatist who seeks to end Chinese rule of the Himalayan region. Many Tibetans say they were effectively an independent country for most of that time.
The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in Dharmsala, India, since fleeing Tibet amid an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. He remains deeply revered among Tibetans, despite Beijing's relentless attempts to vilify him.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Asia Pacific
Sri Lanka say troops poised to take rebel HQAFP - 25 minutes ago
Expect consequences, Chinese media warns France's SarkozyAFP - 31 minutes ago
Thai opposition may take power, army's aid hintedAP - 32 minutes ago
Japan urges Chinese ships to leave disputed watersAP - 37 minutes ago
Chinese media slams Sarkozy for Dalai Lama meetingAP - 57 minutes ago
Most Popular – Asia Pacific
Viewed
Diamond thieves pull off 100-million-dollar Paris heist
Girl, 8, among 17 dead in Manila shoot-out: police
Vinnie Jones gets into bar fight over role in X-Men
Oil price falls below $40
Climate change: Sci-fi solutions no longer in the margins
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular