13. Mar 2009
China Calls Dalai Lama a Political Exile
(VOA) China has issued its strongest recent criticism of the Dalai Lama - calling him a political exile who directly heads an illegal theocratic government. The comments came in Premier Wen Jiabao's press conference at the end of the NPC, during which he discussed a host of issues. Wen spoke most forcefully about Tibet, which he stressed was an inalienable part of China's territory. Wen said Tibet-related issues are completely China's internal affairs and that Beijing will accept no foreign interference on the matter. He said Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a political exile, not a religious figure, and that the Tibetan government in exile based in Dharamsala, is theocratic and illegal, and under the direct leadership of the Dalai Lama.