nwasianweekly.com
April 19, 2008
At the end
of a press conference held with Chinese media outlets, including the
Northwest Asian Weekly’s sister newspaper, the Seattle Chinese
Post, the Dalai Lama invited media members to take a group photo with
him.
Dalai Lama not press shy
The Dalai Lama was in Seattle April 10-15 as part of the 5-day conference on compassion organized by Seeds for Compassion. He participated in various events, from a presentation on the scientific findings of compassion, to a public address to a crowd of 50,000 at Qwest Field to even appearing on stage with the Dave Matthews Band.
He also met with the local media, including holding a press conference specifically for Chinese media outlets on April 12. About 50 reporters attended, including from Chinese-language newspapers based in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vancouver B. C.
During the two-hour meeting, The Dalai Lama said several Chinese media had requested private interviews due to the recent riots in Tibet. However, his limited time didn’t allow for individual meetings, he explained.
Speaking in English, he also answered in Chinese phrases occasionally. At one point, he asked if there was anyone from Xinua, China’s official news agency. One reporter responded, and declined to be in a group photo with the Dalai Lama, saying he had merely come to observe.
Asked about biases in Western media, the Dalai Lama said he did not have time to read all the papers, but that “the best way to understand Tibet is to go visit and observe for yourself.”
Any time Tibetans did anything wrong, he is the one to be blamed, he said, adding that he didn’t mind, and gladly accepts the blame.
The Dalai Lama reiterated that he does not support Tibetan independence. He also maintained that Tibet needs China’s economic support.
Rebecca Ip contributed to this report.
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