China says latest talks with Dalai's envoys failed

Beijing, Nov 10 (PTI) China on Monday said the latest
round of talks with envoys of the Dalai Lama failed to make
progress on the vexed Tibet issue and vowed that it would
never compromise on the status of the Himalayan region.

"Our contacts and talks failed to make progress and (the
Dalai's representatives) should assume full responsibility for
it," the ruling Communist Party of China said in a statement
on the eighth round of talks held here from November five.

The Chinese side held parleys with Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari
and Kelsang Gyaltsen, the two envoys of the Tibetan spiritual
leader.

The unification of the motherland, territorial integrity
and national dignity are the greatest interests of the Chinese
people, it said.

"We will never make a concession," it emphasised.

Meanwhile, at a briefing, Zhu Weiqun, executive vice
Minister of the Communist Party's United Front Work
Department, said the talks, third this year, had centred
mostly on the Dalai Lama and his policies.

"We merely talked about how the Dalai Lama should
completely give up his splittist opinions and actions and
strive for the understanding of the central authorities and
all Chinese people so as to solve the issue concerning his own
prospects," Zhu said.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed 1959
uprising against Chinese rule in his Himalayan homeland.

Fresh violence erupted in the Tibetan capital Lhasa on
March 14 this year against Chinese rule, and spread to other
areas of western China.

China has accused the 73-year-old Dalai Lama, who seeks
"genuine autonomy" for Tibet, of instigating anti-Beijing
riots in Tibet and other areas, a charge he has rejected.