Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 29, 2008

Bush Urges Chinese Leaders to Meet With Dalai Lama
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1BB377C:A6F02AD83191E16052F2A7933E2E30567F0EB4B66EA3A89D& Brief statement
marked president's first public comment on Tibet since protests began
March 10 President Bush and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
presented a united front on Tibet following talks Friday at the White
House.  VOA's Paula Wolfson reports they called on Chinese leaders to
meet with representatives of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the
Dalai Lama.







President Bush and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hold a joint
news conference at the White House in Washington, D.c., 28 Mar
2008Prime Minister Rudd says human rights abuses are being committed
in Tibet, as China cracks down on Tibetans protesting Chinese rule.

"It's clear-cut," he said.  "We need to be upfront and absolutely
straight about what is going on."

Kevin Rudd once represented his country as a diplomat in Beijing, and
is considered an expert among world leaders on China.  At a joint news
conference with President Bush, the new Australian prime minister
urged the Chinese government to exercise restraint, and to meet with
the Dalai Lama or his emissaries.

President Bush nodded in agreement, and said he passed along the same
message earlier in the week during a telephone conversation with
Chinese President Hu Jintao.

"That's exactly what I told Hu Jintao a few days ago, that it is in
his country's interest that he sit down, again with representatives of
the Dalai Lama - not him, but his representatives.  And I urged
restraint," he said.







Tibetan Buddhist monk, center, cries while he speaks to foreign
journalists during visit to Jokhang Temple, 27 Mar 2008The brief
statement marked the president's first public comment on Tibet since
protests began there on March 10. For the most part, the
administration has relied on private diplomatic channels to make its
displeasure known to Beijing.

Both the president and the prime minister are trying to strike a
delicate balance with China.  They are speaking out on the crackdown
on Tibet in a way that does not endanger cooperation with Beijing in
other areas ranging from the trade to diplomatic efforts to deal with
North Korea's nuclear ambitions.


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