Deutsche Welle (Germany)
March 30, 2009

The European Union's top diplomat, Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, has called for new talks between
Beijing and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
Ferrero-Waldner, the EU's external relations
commissioner, said Monday she discussed Tibet in
talks with China's Vice President Li Keqiang and
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Sunday. She said
the Chinese tone was less angry than before, but
there was no sign of any change in Beijing's
hardline attitude toward contact with the exiled
Tibetan Buddhist leader. Meanwhile, the Chinese
state news agency announced Monday that Tibetan
areas will reopen to foreign tourists on April 5
because they are now “harmonious and safe."

Due to a security crackdown Tibet and ethnic
Tibetan areas were closed off to outsiders for over a month.