Dalai Lama's Envoys in Beijing for Tibet Talks

BEIJING, June 30 -- Envoys of the Dalai Lama arrived in Beijing on Monday to open a new round of formal talks with Chinese officials on easing tensions over Tibet.

No agenda was released for the talks, set for Tuesday and Wednesday. Indications are that the delegations will focus on reestablishing calm and improving conditions for Tibetans across the Himalayan plateau before the Aug. 8 start of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

"The Dalai Lama has instructed the envoys to make every effort to bring about tangible progress to alleviate the difficult situation for Tibetans in their homeland," said a statement issued by his government-in-exile in Dharmsala, India.

China has come under harsh international criticism for its crackdown after the March 14 rioting in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. Authorities arrested thousands and sealed off large portions of several western provinces where the population is largely ethnic Tibetan. Exile groups say there have been at least 125 protests since March against Chinese rule, the most significant unrest in nearly 20 years.

Although Chinese officials continue to publicly vilify the Dalai Lama -- on Sunday, the state-run New China News Agency published a commentary that called him a "flunky" -- a spokesman for the Dalai Lama said he was heartened by reports that China has released about 1,000 Tibetans arrested after the protests. He said he was also encouraged by President Hu Jintao's recent comments that he was serious about the Tibetan dialogue.

It is unclear how many Tibetans remain in Chinese custody, but exile groups say thousands remain unaccounted for in a climate of fear.

This will be the seventh round of talks since formal discussions began in 2002 between China and the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader who fled Tibet in 1959 after an unsuccessful armed uprising against Chinese Communist rule. Previous rounds ended with little progress on bedrock issues such as what constitutes autonomy for people in a "Greater Tibet" and under what conditions the Dalai Lama could return.

Although the Chinese label him a "splittist," the Dalai Lama has said repeatedly that he does not seek Tibet's independence from China. That position was underscored in the statement released by his office that referred to "the interest of stability, unity and harmony of all nationalities in the People's Republic of China."

The United States and the European Union issued a statement June 10 insisting that the dialogue be "substantive, constructive and results-oriented," not window dressing to ease criticism before the Olympics.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, after meeting Sunday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, said the United States continues to be concerned about Tibet and encourages the dialogue.

Yang, however, continued to use harsh language. "The Dalai's side should stop his activities designed at splitting China, and the Dalai side should stop masterminding and plotting violence and should stop disruptive activities against the Beijing Olympic Games," he said.

As the Games approach, China is eager to project that things are calm in Tibet. Authorities last week reopened Tibet to foreign tour groups, and the Chinese media have published several stories reporting that Lhasa and other Tibetan areas have returned to normal.