Dalai Lama pokes fun at China slurs, slams censorship
‘Some Chinese officials describe me as a demon’:
South Africa: The Dalai Lama on Saturday slamed censorship in China
as “immoral” and poked fun at denunciations of himself in a video chat
with Desmond Tutu after he was not granted a visa in time to travel to
South Africa. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader’s absence was
symbolised by an empty chair at the event at the University of the
Western Cape where he was meant to deliver an inaugural peace lecture to
wrap Tutu’s 80th birthday celebrations.
“Some Chinese officials describe me as a demon so naturally some fear
about the demon,” the Dalai Lama told Tutu via a laughter-filled live
video link when asked why the Chinese feared him. “First I’m hurt...
(Now) I feel laughing, so I immediately respond yes I have horn,” he
added, miming horns on his head with his fingers.
The furore over the visa overshadowed the run-up to Tutu’s birthday
with the former anti-apartheid activist launching a virulent attack on
President Jacob Zuma’s administration for kowtowing to its biggest trade
partner China.
The Dalai Lama said hypocrisy and telling lies had unfortunately
become part of life in “the communist totalitarian system” and people
who spoke truthfully and honestly sparked discomfort.
“I often tell him (Tutu) 1.3 billion Chinese people should have every
right to know ... reality, then 1.3 billion Chinese people also have the
ability to judge what’s right, what wrong, so therefore censorship is
immoral.”
He also urged China to raise its judicial system up to international
law standards. China clearly had the potential to take “a constructive
role” in the world, he said. “Respect, trust from the rest of the world
is very necessary. For that reason, transparency is very essential,” he
added.
The discussion between the two Nobel Peace Prize laureates who are
close friends was filled with banter, after a last ditch attempt by
Tutu’s office urging the government to grant the Dalai Lama a visa
failed.
Cape Town, Sunday, AFP |
