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NEW DELHI: Envoys of the Dalai Lama were expected to arrive in Beijing later Monday for new talks with Chinese officials, the Tibetan government-in-exile said.
The talks, initially to be held on June 11, were postponed following the massive May 12 earthquake that devastated parts of southwest China.
"The talks will be held on July 1 and 2," in Beijing, Tibetan prime minister-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche told AFP.
China has for years demanded that the Nobel Peace Prize winner give up his aspirations for an independent Tibet if he ever hopes to return to his Himalayan homeland.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated his opposition to Tibetan independence, but continues to seek "real and meaningful autonomy" for Tibet, which Beijing says is already an "autonomous region" within China.
China and the Dalai Lama's representatives held a sixth round of drawn-out talks in early May after unrest against Chinese rule shook the Tibetan region two months earlier.
China has accused the Dalai Lama of fomenting the unrest in an effort to sabotage the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Deadly riots broke out on March 14 in the capital Lhasa after earlier peaceful protests to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule.
A crackdown by Chinese authorities on the unrest brought international criticism of Beijing's policies in the Himalayan region.
The Dalai Lama fled into exile after the 1959 uprising and set up his government in exile in the Indian hill town of Dharamshala.
A statement from the government in exile said the spiritual leader's envoys would land in China for a "formal seventh round of discussions with the Chinese leadership."
- AFP/jk
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