China rejects Dalai Lama's plea for greater Tibetan autonomy+

BEIJING, Nov. 6 Kyodo - The Chinese government on Thursday appeared to rule out any form of constitutional reform in Tibet to give the region greater autonomy.

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that senior Communist Party official
Du Qinglin told representatives of the Dalai Lama in Beijing earlier this week
that the current system of autonomy protects the interests of Tibetans and
China's territorial integrity and that his government cannot accept any moves
toward independence.
''Tibetan independence is not good, half independence is not good, independence
in a disguised form is not good,'' Du was quoted as telling the envoys.
The Dalai Lama has previously expressed disillusionment with the latest rounds
of talks between his aides and Chinese government officials, saying China is
not willing to give Tibet greater meaningful autonomy which fully respects its
language, religion and culture.
He says his efforts to mediate a compromise with China have failed and he has
called a meeting later this month at the headquarters of the Tibetan
government-in-exile in India to discuss all aspects of Tibet's political
future.
This week's talks in Beijing were the third round of negotiations between
Chinese officials and the Dalai Lama's envoys since riots broke out in Tibet
and neighboring provinces in March.
The talks ended on Wednesday and the Tibetan envoys have yet to give their
assessment of how the discussions went.
The Chinese government has repeatedly accused the Dalai Lama's supporters of
organizing the riots in Tibet and neighboring areas earlier this year as part
of an alleged campaign to split Tibet from the rest of China.
The Tibetan spiritual leader has denied the allegations, saying the riots were
a spontaneous expression of anger and frustration against Chinese rule in
Tibet.
The state-run Xinhua News Agency launched a strong attack on the Dalai Lama in
the middle of this week's talks, saying in a commentary that the Tibetan
spiritual leader is still attempting to split Tibet from China, whilst talking
of peace and compromise.
''By stressing his 'disappointment' over the contacts and negotiations, the
Dalai Lama deliberately adopted a pathetic posture only in an attempt to draw
public attention and sympathy,'' the commentary said.
''His disappointment also showed his reluctance to give up his stance to seek
Tibetan independence,'' it added.
Xinhua on Thursday quoted Communist Party official Du as saying that the door
is still open for talks with Tibetan officials, but he again called on the
Dalai Lama to give up his support for ''Tibetan independence.''
The Dalai Lama fled from Tibet in 1959 after a failed uprising against the
Chinese government.