Dalai Lama to keep politics out during visit

In Taiwan, seven Taiwan mayors and county chiefs from the DPP last Wednesday invited the Dalai Lama, who had visited in 1997 and 2001, to join religious activities for victims of Typhoon Morakot.

As the Dalai Lama arrived in Taiwan Sunday to comfort victims, more than 10 Taiwan political organizations denounced the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for inviting him, calling the move "unethical" and "politically motivated".

Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in 50 years, has claimed at least 461 lives and left 192 missing and 46 injured, Taiwan's disaster response authorities said.

"We believe the Dalai Lama will have the wisdom to distinguish between religious empathy and political maneuvering," Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), told reporters Sunday.

"Because Taiwan has been badly hit by the typhoon, Dalai Lana’s visit should help the island instead of adding difficulty to it."

Taiwan authorities, including Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou, have said that they will not meet the Dalai Lama publicly or privately.

A spokesman for the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Taklha, has denied the visit has any political subtext. "It is a spiritual visit. The purpose is to offer prayers for the victims and to offer comfort and succor to those who have survived," Takhla said on Saturday.

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