08 November 2005
Dalai Lama meets President Bush
(Reuters) President George W. Bush met with the Dalai Lama at the White House in Washington, ignoring objections from China 10 days before he makes an official visit to Beijing. The private meeting with the president and the first lady came a day after the Bush administration named China a serious violator of religious freedom in a report to Congress. "We've made our views very clear when it comes to our support for religious freedom (...) And we will continue to speak out on those issues", said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. The Chinese government opposed the meeting, which was Bush's third with the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama said that he was trying to keep the focus of his trip to Washington on scientific not political matters. He said most of his time during his 10-day visit was devoted to science, including a conference, titled "The Science and Clinical Applications of Meditation". The Dalai Lama told reporters that talks between Tibetans and China have done little to improve the atmosphere in Tibet. "So far, [there has been] no such sign," he said. "Still things are very, very repressive."