McCain To Meet With Dalai Lama
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) updated 2:30pm ET – John McCain will meet with the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, tomorrow in Aspen, Colorado. McCain travels to Colorado tonight to speak at the American GI Forum Convention tomorrow morning in Denver, after which he'll travel to Aspen.
"It came up because we arranged the meeting, mutually agreed to a meeting," McCain said.
"I have been a great admirer of the Dalai Lama and I look forward to the opportunity of meeting an individual who is a transcendent international role model and hero and I have admired him and respected him for the efforts he's made on behalf of freedom of the people of Tibet but also all over the world."
The Aspen Institute is hosting a three day symposium on Tibetan culture, where the Dalai Lama will be the keynote speaker.
McCain has been critical of China's dealings with Tibet, which has included crackdowns on protests by the Tibetan monks.
"The people there are being subjected to mistreatment that is not acceptable with the conduct of a world power, which China is," McCain said in March.
"There must be respect for human rights, and I would hope that the Chinese are actively seeking a peaceful resolution to this situation that exists which harms not only the human rights of the people there but also the image of China in the world."