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Tibetans Won't Stop Following Dalai Lama

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Los Angeles Times

Published: November 23, 2008

BEIJING - Exiled Tibetans have agreed to continue with the Dalai Lama's accommodating approach toward China despite years of frustration and failed talks, their self-declared government said Saturday.

The so-called "middle way" stance that Tibetans have followed for the past two decades acknowledges Chinese sovereignty over their homeland amid hopes Beijing will grant greater autonomy over religious and cultural affairs.

The Chinese military marched into Tibet in 1951 shortly after the Communists gained control of China. Since then, Beijing has maintained tight control over the ethnic Tibetan areas.

The decision to maintain the status quo capped six days of talks in which more than 500 exiles from around the world met in Dharmsala, India, to confront a central dilemma facing the group.

The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader, is 73 and slowing down. China, meanwhile, is getting stronger as its military, political and economic clout continue to expand at home and abroad.

Although the Dalai Lama said all points of view would be considered when he called the meeting, analysts and delegates said the outcome was almost a foregone conclusion.

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