U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2008)

U.S. Department of State

Daily Press Briefing

Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
May 2, 2008

12:07 p.m. EDT

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

QUESTION: On the Dalai Lama. Has the U.S. been informed of the meeting between China and the Dalai Lama reps? And also, Chris Hill told the press yesterday that he met with one of the Dalai Lama representatives before the rep went to China. What was the purpose of the meeting with Hill and what did they talk about?

MR. CASEY: I'm sorry. Who said they had met with the representative?

QUESTION: Chris Hill had spoken to the press yesterday.

MR. CASEY: I'm sorry. You'll have to ask Chris about it. I have no idea whether -- what interactions he might or might not have had.

In terms of our views on conversations with the Chinese and representatives of the Dalai Lama, obviously, we've been calling for that for a long time. We certainly support the statements, as the President said yesterday, that the Chinese Government has said they're willing to have this meeting take place. We certainly want to see it take place and believe that dialogue between the Dalai Lama and his representatives and the Chinese Government is really the best way to address some of the fundamental issues in Tibet, and will allow for a real communication and a real discussion of those issues between the Chinese Government and an individual and his representatives who really is revered among people in the area and who is an important spiritual leader for many.

QUESTION: A follow-up, if I may?

MR. CASEY: Yeah.

QUESTION: Concerning the President's remarks yesterday, he said substantive to address in a real way the deep and legitimate concerns of the Tibetan people. What is the U.S. take as the deep and legitimate concerns, and also, what do you expect them to discuss specifically in the dialogue?

MR. CASEY: Well, I don't think that we need to catalog for the Tibetan people what their basic concerns are. Obviously, we have a situation in Tibet where people feel that they are unable to freely practice their religion, freely practice some of their cultural traditions and values. And this is an ongoing problem. These are things that we would hope would be able to be discussed.

Certainly, the Dalai Lama himself has said that he is not calling for any kind of change in the political status of Tibet. He's not calling for independence, but calling for a discussion with the Chinese Government to help resolve some of these issues and allow people to be able to enjoy some of these basic rights that I think everyone would hope they'd be able to do.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. CASEY: Thank you.

(The briefing was concluded at 12:17 p.m.)