Dalai Lama gets cold reception in Germany, Switzerland

　　(Source: People's Daily Online)

　　BEIJING, Aug. 5 -- According to reports published by the Global Times on August 3 and 4, the Dalai Lama has received a noticeably colder reception during his visit to Europe in contrast with the adoration of previous occasions.

　　None of his numerous "powerful friends" in Germany arranged to meet with him, and Switzerland has stated that he will not be officially received on behalf of the Cabinet.

　　According to reports by media agencies such as the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, since the Dalai Lama's arrival in Germany on July 29, only his old friend Hesse State Governor Roland Koch has formally met with him.

　　No German heavyweight politicians have met with him. Even the German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, who met with the Dalai Lama last year, just "secretly" visited him at the hotel in which he was staying.

　　The Dalai Lama started his visit to Switzerland on August 4, but none of the seven members of the Federal Council intended to receive him. Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey explained, "In terms of timing it is very difficult for me and my colleagues to personally meet with him." It is currently vacation period in Switzerland so many officials have planned to avoid meeting with the Dalai Lama using the excuse of taking a vacation.

　　The Deutsche Welle commented that China is likely to be the first country to emerge from the global financial crisis. Countries seeking to recover from the financial crisis need help from China as an economic superpower. This is another reason why German politicians have cold-shouldered the Dalai Lama.

　　As for the attitude of the Swiss government, Zhao Guojun, an expert on international issues, said, "In the past, Switzerland boldly received the Dalai Lama as the country has little influence on international political strategies. The reason behind the refusal lies in Switzerland‘s new awareness of China's growing power in the global environment which cannot be ignored. Switzerland must consider cooperating with China in order to advance its national interests and safeguard its economy and trade. Furthermore, China's government has expressed strong diplomatic protest to some countries that received Rebiya Kadeer after the July 5 incident. This had a certain influence on a number of other countries."