The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, has been invited to visit Hong Kong by a religious organisation.
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region under the People's Republic of China and Beijing may not be too happy with the extension of this invitation. But organizers of the trip believe that the Tibetan spiritual leader will be able to make the visit in September
Chairman of the Hong Kong Tibetan and Han-Chinese Friendship Association, Philip Li Koi-hip, told the Hong Kong-based newspaper the South China Morning Post that the group is confident that the Tibetan spiritual leader will be able to visit Hong Kong.
"One time I asked him if he wanted to come to Hong Kong. He answered 'Yes', and said a University of Hong Kong professor had invited him earlier. But the Hong Kong government rejected the visit," said Philip Li Koi-hip, who has visited the Dalai Lama four times in India between 2009 and 2011.
The Dalai Lama who relinquished all his political authority to the elected Tibetan leadership in 2011 has recently urged the Tibetans to think "twice" before organizing any "anti-China" protests. Also his government in exile is asking Beijing to grant the same sort of autonomy that Hong Kong and Macau enjoy-one country two systems.
However, it has been learnt that the Dalai Lama's private office in Dharamshala, India, has not yet officially responded to the invitation.
Apart from inviting the Dalai Lama, Li has sent letters to concerned authorities in mainland china including President Xi Jinping to allow the Dalai Lama to visit Hong Kong.
Li said that if the Tibetan spiritual leader who was forced into exile in 1959 is permitted to visit Hong Kong, "his visit will represent significant progress in easing tensions with Beijing."
