In a South African media in IOL report, the Chinese authorities are said to have admitted that Beijing opposes against the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama from visiting South Africa. The report says that China considers such a visit a threat to the two countries’s growing economic co-operation.
Director-General of the African Affairs Department in the Foreign Ministry, Lin Songtian reported as saying the Dalai Lama had refused to occupy a temple the Chinese Government had built for him, preferring to stay in exile.
South Africa has received economical pledges amounting to about $90 billion investments in the field of infrastructure projects and industrialisation for the period of coming three years. The statements from the Chinese authorities include non-intereference in the African internal affairs.
Songtian accused the Dalai Lama of keeping a shadow government and cabinet in exile in the name of religious authority. This question should be reflected with the implementation democracy in the exile government voluntarily by His Holiness the Dalai Lama decades ago.
Songtian warned in the statement that the Dalai Lama’s visit would spoil all the promises of investments from the Chinese government in the South Africa. In fact, he has clearly stated that the Dalai Lama’s visit to South Africa would spoil the friendly atmosphere and good relation between the two countries.
However, Department of International Relations and Co-operation spokesman Clayson Monyela reported to have said that South Africa never denied the Dalai Lama visa to South Africa.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama had cancelled his trip to Cape Town last year after his visa refusal by South Africa for the third time in five years.