Dalai Lama told to 'cherish' opportunity

BEIJING, April 30 (UPI) -- China says the Dalai Lama should "cherish" the opportunity his side has been given to meet and discuss the Tibet issue with Chinese officials.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said her government has shown broad-mindedness by agreeing to consult with a representative of the Tibetan leader, Xinhua reported.

Last week, China, bowing to international pressure to stop its crackdown in Tibet, agreed to have its relevant government department meet with the Tibetan leader's representative. No date has been fixed.

Ever since the Tibetan suppression in March, China has been accusing the Dalai Lama of masterminding the unrest and insisting the Tibetan leader must stop advocating "Tibet independence" and accept that Tibet and Taiwan are parts of China before any talks could be held.

"We hope the Dalai Lama and his followers will cherish this opportunity, recognize the situation, change their position, and take concrete actions to stop violent crimes and activities and those involving disruption of the Beijing Olympics and splitting the motherland, to create conditions for further consultation," Jiang said.

Repeating her government's stand, Jiang said Tibet is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and Tibet affairs are completely internal affairs of China, Xinhua reported.