China prefaced expected talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama today by condemning the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader as a criminal, while cloaking the meeting itself in secrecy.
China's state media has not mentioned the planned meeting, the first since unrest erupted across Tibet in March. But official newspapers continued their bitter criticism of the Dalai Lama and his supporters, suggesting that the government will not be in a mood to compromise.
"Patriotic people of Tibet strongly condemn and vehemently denounce the litany of crimes committed by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and his followers," said the official Tibet Daily, according to the region's official news Website.
The Tibetan government-in-exile in India said two senior envoys were travelling on Saturday to China via Hong Hong to discuss the Tibetan riots and protests that have shaken Beijing's preparations for the Beijing Olympics and stoked Western criticism of a security crackdown in the restive mountain region.
"They are travelling to a city in China from Hong Kong today," said government-in-exile spokesman Thubten Samphel, adding that he did not know where the talks would be held.
The Olympic torch's world tour has been dogged by protests over China's rule in Tibet that have angered Beijing and provoked counter-rallies both at home and abroad by patriotic Chinese.
China proposed the talks last week after Western governments urged it to open new dialogue with the exiled Buddhist leader, who says he wants a high level of autonomy and religious freedom for his homeland, which he fled in 1959.