Obama's date with Dalai Lama hurts Chinese 'feelings'

Beijing, Jul 17: United States President Barack Obama met spiritual leader Dalai Lama at White House despite of warnings from China, who continues a stranded relationship with Tibet.

Barack Obama received Dalai Lama in a private residence in White House on Saturday, Jul 16 and the meeting longed for 45 minutes. Media reported that Dalai Lama, who has spent more than half a century in exile, urged respect for human rights and cultural traditions in Tibet.

"The President reiterated his strong support for the preservation of the unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions of Tibet and the Tibetan people throughout the world. He underscored the importance of the protection of human rights of Tibetans in China" the White House said in a statement.

Anyhow, White House tried to reduce the publicity of the meeting by announcing it just few hours before the meet. Also, reporters were not allowed to enter the meeting. Later, White House released a photo of Obama listening to Buddhist spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, immediately after the meet, China released a statement saying that US president was trying to damage the Sino-American relations. The statement released by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that the meeting will "hurt the feelings of Chinese people."

"Such an act has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, hurt the feelings of Chinese people and damaged the Sino-American relations," foreign ministry spokesman said.

OneIndia News