Taiwan has approved a visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, in a move that could anger China. President Ma Ying-jeou has agreed to a request from the opposition to invite the Dalai Lama next week, to comfort victims of deadly Typhoon Morakot. China usually voices anger at nations that welcome the Dalai Lama, whom it views as a dangerous separatist. This trip is particularly controversial given that Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of its territory. But correspondents say China's criticism may be more muted than might otherwise have been expected because officials in Beijing are wary of playing into the hands of Taiwan's pro-independence opposition.
Under Taiwan's previous administration, the Dalai Lama visited the island several times - most recently in 2001. But President Ma, who came to power in 2008, is much closer to China than his predecessor Chen Shui-bian. Allowing the Dalai Lama's visit is being seen as a politically-calculated move by President Ma Ying-jeou aimed at avoiding further public criticism of him and his administration. The president cannot afford to have his approval ratings, already at a record low, plunge further for being seen as bowing to pressure from Beijing. And analysts said he would face a public backlash if he did not let the visit go ahead.
It is unclear how Beijing, which normally strongly rebukes countries that host the Dalai Lama, will react. But Mr Ma's office sounded confident ties with China will not be damaged, so it is possible an understanding has been reached. China has little choice. It would not want to see Mr Ma's popularity fall further, possibly risking a comeback by the pro-independence opposition. Last year he refused to grant permission for a visit by the Dalai Lama, saying the timing was not right as his government was working to improve relations with Beijing. But the typhoon and its aftermath have left Mr Ma in a difficult position. An estimated 500 people were killed by severe flooding and mudslides caused by the typhoon - the worst Taiwan has suffered for 50 years - and Mr Ma's administration has been criticised for its slow and inefficient response. His popularity has plunged to a record low of 20% over his handling of the disaster. According to the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taipei, the president needed to give the green light to the Dalai Lama's visit because he could not afford to hurt his and his party's image any further. So after a five-hour meeting with security officials, he chose to allow the trip. "We've... decided to let the Dalai Lama visit as he is coming here to pray for the dead victims, as well as the survivors," Mr Ma told reporters.
The Tibetan spiritual leader is due to arrive on 31 August and to stay for four days, with the focus of his trip being entirely to comfort those affected by the typhoon. The Dalai Lama has long been eager to visit Taiwan, and is looking forward to the trip, his aide told Reuters news agency. Taiwan is home to a large exiled Tibetan community, and millions of Taiwanese are
Such a visit would normally trigger loud protests from Beijing, which considers Taiwan, along with Tibet, as an inseparable part of China.
Military soldiers helping to clean the streets of Linbian, in southern Taiwan
Many relatives of those killed in the south of Taiwan blame the government. But it is unclear whether Beijing will react so strongly this time. The Chinese government considers Mr Ma's administration far easier to deal with than the island's previous pro-independence leadership. Correspondents say that if Chinese officials were to harshly criticise the visit, they might play into the hands of Taiwan's opposition by reducing Mr Ma's popularity even further. A spokesman for Taiwan's Presidential Office refused to say whether Beijing had yet been informed of the decision, but he said "cross-strait relations will not be negatively affected by allowing the Dalai Lama to visit."
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