The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan expressed gratitude that the Dalai Lama wished to express personally his condolences and spiritual support to Taiwan and to the suffering victims of the lethal typhoon Morakot, which hit the island on August 8 and is believed to have claimed more than 650 lives.
“The Presbyterian church fully appreciates and respects that our people adhere to different faiths, therefore, we trust as a spiritual leader and international figure, the visit of the Dalai Lama will be a source of comfort to our suffering people and nation,” Kho Sing-Doh, associate general secretary of the church, told Ecumenical News
International on August 28.
Buddhist, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Taoist leaders in Taiwan held a joint prayer service in Kaohsiung on August 30 at which Cardinal Paul Shan said he welcomed the visit of the Dalai Lama, while saying people should not politicize the issue.
“For the last several years I’ve been very eager to come here,” the Dalai Lama told journalists on his arrival. Yet as he was boarding a train in Taipei a group of about 50 pro-Beijing demonstrators hurled insults at the Dalai Lama.
In an interview with CNN International television, the Buddhist leader, “As soon as I received the invitation, I know there’s some complications maybe. But it is my sort of moral responsibility to come and to see, show my face to those people who are passing through a difficult period.” He noted, “As a Buddhist monk, it is my moral principle to go there, see them and at least share some of their sorrow, some of their sadness.”
The Dalai Lama is often viewed as the head of a Tibet government-in-exile, but he says he does not seek its separation from China. He accepted the invitation by a Taiwanese opposition political party for a visit to the island from August 31 to September 4. During the visit, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate has hosted prayer sessions for typhoon victims and is to deliver public lectures.
In Beijing, Chinese officials denounced the trip, saying it will strain relations with Taiwan, which it views as a renegade province of China. “The Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure and he has all along been engaged in separatist activities under the pretext of religion,” the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council in Beijing said in a statement on August 27.
A spokesperson of the Taiwan Catholic Bishops’ Conference said they “respect the visit of the Dalai Lama to Taiwan and the Taiwan government’s decision to receive him, as religious freedom is a basic human right.”
“The announcement of the visit of Dalai Lama to Taiwan has not given rise to any negative consequence, so we hope that people will respect each other’s beliefs,” Otfried Chan, general secretary of the bishops’ conference, told ENI on August 28.
“The Church always prefers dialogue to confrontation,” he said. While “it is not the role of the Catholic Church to interfere directly in the politics,” the Church “has always taught and defended religious freedom, since religious freedom is inherent to human rights.”
