New Zealand Chinese groups want ban on Dalai Lama's visit
Asia-Pacific News
Apr 1, 2009, 20:37 GM
The United Chinese Association of New Zealand, an umbrella group representing 28 organizations, wants the government to refuse the Dalai Lama a visa for a proposed visit in December, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
Prime Minister John Key has already said he would meet the 73- year-old Tibetan spiritual leader when he visits Auckland, calling him a 'significant visitor,' the New Zealand Herald reported.
But the association's chairman Steven Wong told the paper, 'The Dalai Lama is just a stirrer and everywhere he goes, he spreads lies and destroys relationships.'
He said the association was writing to Key and Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman asking them to follow the example of South Africa, which refused a visa after the Dalai Lama was invited to attend a peace conference of Nobel laureates.
The chairman of the Dalai Lama Visit Trust, Thuten Kesang, told the paper he was disgusted at the Chinese attempts to put pressure on New Zealand and said they could backfire.
'The Chinese must learn they cannot dictate who we can and cannot welcome into our country,' Kesang said.
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