By inthenews.co.uk staff.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is to visit the survivors of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.
In a move that risks angering the mainland, Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou told reporters he had invited the Dalai Lama to the island's devastated southern Kaohsiung county.
Hundreds of people died in the storm, which the Taiwanese government has been accused of reacting slowly to.
The Dalai Lama was first invited to visit the country by the opposition Democratic Progressive party, with President Ma confirming the visit today.
'We have decided to [agree to] the Dalai Lama's visit to pray for the souls of the deceased and seek blessings for the survivors of the typhoon,' he said.
A spokesman added the Buddhist leader's visit was being made on purely humanitarian and spiritual, not political, grounds, with a large community of exiled Tibetans living in Taiwan.
Beijing regards the Dalai Lama as having a 'splittist' agenda following his long campaign for greater Tibetan autonomy.
The mainland government, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory despite being governed separately since 1949, is yet to comment on the Dalai Lama's arranged visit.
Beijing typically dislikes foreign governments hosting the Tibetan leader, who leads a government in exile in Dharamsala.
Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is to visit the survivors of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.
In a move that risks angering the mainland, Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou told reporters he had invited the Dalai Lama to the island's devastated southern Kaohsiung county.
Hundreds of people died in the storm, which the Taiwanese government has been accused of reacting slowly to.
The Dalai Lama was first invited to visit the country by the opposition Democratic Progressive party, with President Ma confirming the visit today.
'We have decided to [agree to] the Dalai Lama's visit to pray for the souls of the deceased and seek blessings for the survivors of the typhoon,' he said.
A spokesman added the Buddhist leader's visit was being made on purely humanitarian and spiritual, not political, grounds, with a large community of exiled Tibetans living in Taiwan.
Beijing regards the Dalai Lama as having a 'splittist' agenda following his long campaign for greater Tibetan autonomy.
The mainland government, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory despite being governed separately since 1949, is yet to comment on the Dalai Lama's arranged visit.
Beijing typically dislikes foreign governments hosting the Tibetan leader, who leads a government in exile in Dharamsala.
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