Dalai Lama Welcomed to Taiwan: despite China's Protest

HONG KONG — The president of Taiwan said Thursday that he would allow the Dalai Lama to visit the island next week.

China opposes this viist and say that it threatens to jeopardize rapidly improving relations between Taipei and Beijing.

“No matter under what form or identity Dalai uses to enter Taiwan, we resolutely oppose this,” the China’s Taiwan Affairs Bureau said Thursday in a statement carried by the Xinhua news agency.

The Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to arrive Monday for a six-day tour of southern Taiwan, which was ravaged by Typhoon Morakot three weeks ago. It is believed that the Dalai Lama will bring comfort and peace to the victims of the flooding. At least 650 people are reported dead, in the aftermath of the storm.

The invitation to the Dalai Lama was extended by several local government leaders in the south. This was seen by analysts in Taiwan as a political maneuvre aimed at embarrassing President Ma Ying-jeou, whose approval ratings have plummeted over what is widely seen as a slow and ineffective response to the devastating typhoon.