President Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan said Thursday that the Dalai Lama will be allowed to visit the island nation to comfort the survivors of Typhoon Morakat, which slammed Taiwan two weeks ago and also devastated areas of densely populated eastern China.
The Dalai Lama’s visit happens over the usual objections from Beijing, which considers the Dalai Lama harmful to the unity of China. Many Western countries have likewise defied China’s wrath and invited the Dalai Lama to visit, but those nations do not border China. Slightly more than 100 miles separate Taiwan from China, the present government of which considers the island nation a breakaway province.
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