Washington, United States: President Barack Obama will meet the Dalai Lama at the White House today, in a move likely to enrage China, which sees the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist.
Obama's official schedule indicated that the pair, who have met before several times, would talk behind closed doors in the Map Room at 10:15 am (1415 GMT). The president usually speaks with dignitaries in the Oval Office.
They last met in the same room in February 2014, though they have had encounters since.
China says that Dalai Lama is seeking to split Tibet from the rest of China and calls him a "wolf in sheep's clothing." But the spiritual leader has pressed more for Tibetan autonomy rather than outright independence.
Many Tibetans say China in turn is repressing their Buddhist religion and culture, and preventing them from benefiting from the region's economic development.
Although the meeting will certainly draw China's ire, the concrete consequences remain unclear.
Obama's official schedule indicated that the pair, who have met before several times, would talk behind closed doors in the Map Room at 10:15 am (1415 GMT). The president usually speaks with dignitaries in the Oval Office.
They last met in the same room in February 2014, though they have had encounters since.
China says that Dalai Lama is seeking to split Tibet from the rest of China and calls him a "wolf in sheep's clothing." But the spiritual leader has pressed more for Tibetan autonomy rather than outright independence.
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Many Tibetans say China in turn is repressing their Buddhist religion and culture, and preventing them from benefiting from the region's economic development.
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Although the meeting will certainly draw China's ire, the concrete consequences remain unclear.
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