Obama-Dalai Lama talks irk China

A fuming China summoned a top US diplomat late on Friday night to register its protest against President Barack Obama's meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader and Noble laureate, the India-based Dalai Lama, saying Washington was interfering in Beijing's internal domestic affairs. Zhang Yesui, vice-foreign minister, told  Daniel Kritenbrink, charge d'affaires of US embassy in China, in no uncertain terms that the meeting was "wrong move" and it "gravely interfered in China's internal affairs, seriously violated the US commitment of not supporting the 'Tibetan independence'" movement. On Thursday, as information about the impending meeting was released by the White House, Beijing had lost no time in issuing statements and releasing an official commentary criticising the US move and asked Obama to scrap the meeting.  Beijing described the Dalai Lama as a separatist, while the spiritual leader said he only advocates greater autonomy for Tibet, not independence, according to AFP.