Dalai Lama's envoys, China plan 2nd round of talks

SHENZHEN, China — The Dalai Lama's envoys and Chinese officials are planning a second round of talks after holding their first meeting since violent anti-government protests erupted in Tibet in March, China's state-run news agency reported Sunday.

The Xinhua News Agency, which quoted unidentified sources, did not say when or where the next round of meetings would be held. The report said that Chinese officials had answered questions raised by the Dalai Lama's envoys at the meeting in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

"The two sides agreed another round of contact would be held at an appropriate time," Xinhua said, citing the unidentified sources.

But Xinhua added that the Chinese officials told the Dalai Lama's envoys that the violent protests "had given rise to new obstacles for resuming contacts and consultations with the Dalai side."

President Hu Jintao said in Beijing as the two parties met that he hoped for a "positive outcome" and that the "door of dialogue remains open," Xinhua reported earlier Sunday.

Xinhua said the meeting took place "at the repeated requests made by the Dalai side."

The meeting's exact location in Shenzhen, close to Hong Kong, was not announced. A large group of foreign reporters waited outside a palm tree-lined statehouse compound in suburban Shenzhen that was believed to be the meeting venue. But no sign of the parties was seen.

The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he was not behind the recent unrest, and that his envoys planned to ask China to address the accusations, said Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile based in Dharmsala, India.

The Dalai Lama's side also wanted to push for an easing of tensions in Tibetan areas of China, Rinpoche told The Associated Press, adding that the talks would last a day or two.

But even as the talks took place, China kept up its verbal attacks on the Dalai Lama.

Xinhua quoted Chinese experts on Tibet as saying the Tibetan Youth Congress, an exile group, was dedicated to separating Tibet from China and was the "armed spearhead of the 14th Dalai Lama group."

It quoted a researcher from the Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center as saying the Tibetan Youth Congress was behind the March 14 riots.