President Ma nixes plans for visit by Dalai Lama

The comments by Ma Ying-jeou followed reports earlier this week that the Tibetan spiritual leader wants to come to Taiwan in 2009, in what would be his third trip to the island in the past 11 years.

A Dalai Lama visit would incense China, which accuses him of working to undermine Chinese authority in Tibet, a Chinese autonomous region. It would also threaten Ma’s hallmark policy of reducing tensions with Beijing, the centerpiece of his six-month old presidency.

Speaking to foreign reporters in Taipei, Ma said that while Taiwan generally welcomed religious leaders’ visits to Taiwan, the Dalai Lama’s desire to come to the island could not now be accommodated.

“I think at the current moment the timing isn’t appropriate for that,” he said.

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