Dalai Lama ‘playing tricks’ to gain public attention: China

China's state media has blasted the Dalai Lama saying he is ‘playing tricks’ to draw public attention and sympathy.

As Beijing and Tibetan envoys prepare for talks, China’s state media on Tuesday blasted the Dalai Lama saying he is ‘playing tricks’ to draw public attention and sympathy.

Criticizing the spiritual leader’s recent comments expressing doubt over usefulness of new talks, the Xinhua News Agency said the Dalai Lama’s ‘disappointment’ was groundless.

“He is again playing the trick of retirement. It is futile for him to try to turn back the wheel of history,” the report said.

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During his Japan tour on Monday, the exiled Tibetan leader said that current situation in Tibet is ‘very sad’.

“My trust in the Chinese Government has become thinner, thinner, thinner. Suppression (in Tibet) is increasing and I cannot pretend that everything is OK”.

He also said that his efforts to secure Tibetan autonomy have failed to bring positive changes as previous rounds of talks have produced no substantive results and he is unsure whether new talks will produce any breakthroughs.

However, the state media said, “By stressing his ‘disappointment’ over the contacts and negotiations, the Dalai Lama deliberately adopted a pathetic posture only in an attempt to draw public attention and sympathy.”

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“His disappointment also showed his reluctance to give up his stance to seek Tibetan independence,” it added.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India amid a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, says he does not seek Tibet’s separation from China but wants meaningful autonomy that would ensure the survival of the Himalayan region’s unique Buddhist culture.