Taiwan opposition officials invite Dalai Lama
- Source: Global Times
- [01:28 August 27 2009]
- Comments
By Wang Anna
Mayors and local officials from counties and cities in southern Taiwan, all members of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), invited the Dalai Lama to visit the island to pray for Morakot typhoon victims, according to the Taipei-based Central News Agency.
“We have jointly invited the Dalai Lama to visit typhoon hit areas and pray for the victims,” Chen Chu, mayor of Kaohsiung, one of the worst hit areas in the typhoon, said yesterday.
The deadly typhoon that hit Taiwan August 6, brought on heavy floods and landslides that left 461 dead, 192 missing and 46 injured in the island, according to the death toll released by Taiwan authorities Tuesday.
Cheng Wen-tseng, the spokesman for the DPP said yesterday that the Dalai Lama has accepted the invitation, tentatively scheduled from August 31 to September 4.
Cheng added that Tsai Ing-wen, chairman of the DPP, would attend the speech and prayer ceremony conducted by the Dalai Lama.
Cheng also asked Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou to help with visa arrangements for the Dalai Lama.
A spokesman for Ma’s office said yesterday that they didn’t understand the motive behind this invitation and would not comment on the issue at the moment.
Ma turned down a proposal by the Dalai Lama to visit the island last December, saying that “the timing is not right.”
The Dalai Lama has visited the island twice before.
