Tibet

(Newser) - President Bush ignored China's fury today and met with the Dalai Lama, who will pick up a Congressional Gold Medal tomorrow, Reuters reports. "If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world," said a Tibetan Communist Party...

(Newser) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet today with the Dalai Lama, even as China responded by canceling meetings in Munich. The Chinese government, which governs Tibet, derided the meeting as part of the Dalai Lama's agenda to promote Tibetan independence. BBC reports the Germans were unmoved: "The meeting will...

(Newser) - As the one-year countdown to the Beijing Olympics begins tomorrow, activists and Olympic organizers alike have been vocal in their concerns about the host city. The government is under fire for press harassment: journalists were detained for several hours yesterday after a Reporters Without Borders conference, and six Free Tibet...

(Newser) - China's office of religious affairs has cracked down on the Tibetan practice of designating "living Buddhas," writes the Telegraph. A notice published yesterday forces Tibetan lamas to obtain Chinese permission before naming reincarnations. The exiled Tibetan government suggests the new rules signal that Beijing will try to name...