As the Dalai Lama expressed hope that the talks between his envoys and China on the festering Tibet issue may resume next month, Beijing on Thursday said the dates for the parleys were still under discussion.
"As for the contact with the Dalai Lama, the timeframe is still under discussion," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular media briefing in Beijing.
Representatives of the Chinese government and the Tibetan leader, living in exile in India, had last month held fence- mending talks after the major powers ratcheted up pressure on Beijing to hold a dialogue on the issue of unrest in Tibet. In their first encounter, both sides had agreed to resume the dialogue but no dates for the next round of talks were
announced.
The Dalai Lama, currently on a visit to Australia to deliver a series of meditation lectures, earlier on Thursday, said in Sydney that he hoped that a new round of talks between his envoys and Chinese officials would take place "may be next month." The Dalai Lama, however, asserted "stability must come from the heart, not a gun."
China is now more focused on rehabilitation and relief work in southwest Sichuan region where a devastating earthquake a month ago had killed more than 69,000