By Xu Sizhu
Epoch Times
May 11, 2009

NEW YORK -- In his continuous efforts to build a
viable  relationship with the Chinese people and
to clarify the  Chinese regime's false propaganda
on Tibetan issues, the Dalai Lama met with over
120 pro-democracy activists, scholars and
dissidents at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New
York on May 5. He appealed to  overseas Chinese
intellectuals and media to visit Tibet and spread
the news about the real situation there.

In his opening remarks, the Dalai Lama  spoke
about how he  had been deceived by the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) years ago. In 1954, he went
to Beijing to attend the first session of the
National People's Congress as a vice chairman. He
met with Mao Zedong, the  then-leader of the
communist party, and other  officials, and was
under the impression that they were all faithful
representatives of the people and had a clear
plan. He was attracted by Marxism and he even
thought of joining the communist party.

In 1954 and 1955,  many Tibetans were  very
excited,  thinking that they would have a better
life under the leadership of the CCP. However, it
didn't take long for them to realize that they
were wrong. The regimes’ reaction to the famine
and  armed resistance in east Tibet in 1956
proved to them that for Tibet, “autonomy”
is  just a word jotted down in the Chinese
Constitution. The CCP’s real goal was to control Tibet.

The Dalai Lama also spoke about the
misunderstanding between the Chinese and Tibetans
caused by the CCP’s  false propaganda put forth
as official information by China’s
state-controlled media. Many in the overseas
Chinese community, particularly Chinese students,
were very angry after they heard the false
information about the Tibetan uprising last
March. With his world tour and open discussion
with the Chinese, he could actually see the changes in their attitude.

The Dalai Lama expressed his thanks to
the  Chinese overseas media for the large number
of reports on the real situation in Tibet after
the Chinese  regime opened fire on Tibetans on
March 14 of last year. He believes these reports
played a great role in clarifying the facts to the Chinese people.

When asked about the issue of democracy in China,
the Dalai Lama said that it is very dangerous for
such a  large country to not  enforce the rule of
law. "In democratic Taiwan, even the former
President, Chen Shui-bian, could be arrested and
detained for a financial scandal, whereas this is
totally impossible in China. That is
why  high-ranking officials can be so corrupt.
Establishing a democratic system is the only
solution to the problem of corruption in
China,"  the Dalai Lama said. "The Communist
Party has reigned long enough. Now it is time for their retirement," he said.