White House spokesman says Obama will meet with Dalai Lama

白宫发言人说奥巴马会与达赖会面

February 2, 2010 2:32 p.m. EST

The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, attends a special prayer session at the Mahabodhi Temple in India on January 10.

Beijing, China (CNN) -- President Obama intends to meet the Dalai Lama even though China has warned that such a meeting would harm bilateral ties, a White House spokesman said Tuesday.

奥巴马总统将会见达赖喇嘛，不顾之前中国警告说这样的会面会损害双边关系。白宫发言人在周二表示。

"The president told China's leaders during his trip last year that he would meet with the Dalai Lama, and he intends to do so," Bill Burton told reporters covering Obama's planned town hall meeting in New Hampshire later Tuesday.

“总统在去年到中国的访问中就说过他会与达赖喇嘛会面，而他现在就打算这么做。” Bill Burton周二晚些时候在New Hampshire告诉了记者们奥巴马总统的计划。

No date for Obama's meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader has been announced. The Dalai Lama has speaking engagements scheduled in the United States in late February and in May.

发言人并没有透露奥巴马总统与这位西藏精神领袖的会面日期。达赖喇嘛已经约定在二月底和三月访美。

Earlier Tuesday, China warned that ties between two of the world's superpowers would be strained if Obama met with the Dalai Lama.

周二早些时候，中国警告说如果奥巴马与达赖喇嘛会面，就会损害两个超级大国之间的关系。

"It will seriously undermine the foundation of Sino-U.S. political relations," said Zhu Weiqun, a Communist Party official who is in charge of talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama. "We will take corresponding action to make relevant countries see their mistakes."

“这将会严重的动摇中美政治关系的根基，” 中共负责与达赖代表对话的官员朱维群说：“我们会采取相应的动作让相关国家看到他们做错了。”

Zhu issued his warning during a news conference to discuss the lack of progress made during five days of talks between China and the Dalai Lama's representatives.

朱在一次记者招待会上发表了他的警告，此次招待会是为了讨论中国与达赖代表之间五天毫无进展的对话。

Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of advocating for Tibetan independence from China.

北京指责达赖喇嘛要谋求西藏独立。

"The two sides had sharply divided views," Zhu said. "We have been accustomed to such clash of viewpoints. It's been the norm rather than the exception."

“双方的观点完全不同，”朱维群说：“我们已经对如此对立的观点习以为常了。”

In explaining Obama's intention to hold the meeting, Burton said the Dalai Lama "is an internationally respected religious and cultural leader, and the president will meet with him in that capacity.

在解释奥巴马与达赖会面的意图时，Burton说达赖是一位广受国际尊重的宗教与反对派领袖，而总统与他会面是总统的权利。

"As the president has expressed, we expect that our relationship with China is mature enough where we can work out issues of mutual concerns -- such as climate, the global economy and nonproliferation -- and discuss frankly and candidly those issues where we disagree," Burton said. "The president is committed to building a positive, comprehensive and cooperative relationship with China."

“正如总统所说的，我们期望我们与中国的关系已经成熟到足以共同解决诸如气候变暖、国际经济和防核武器扩散的问题，而且是要开诚布公的讨论我们意见相左的议题，” Burton说到“总统许诺要与中国建立一个积极的、全面的、合作的关系。”

Tibet is technically autonomous from the central Chinese government, but the Dalai Lama and others have said they favor genuine autonomy and resent the slow erosion of their culture amid an influx of Han Chinese, the most numerous ethnic group in China.

虽然西藏在名义上是自治的，但是达赖和其他人说他们想要真正的自治而且憎恨汉族这一中国人口最多的民族对西藏文化的侵蚀

Zhu said there would be no compromise on China's control of Tibet.

Representatives from the two sides have met eight other times, but have reached no consensus on the issue of autonomy.

朱维群说中国对西藏主权的控制是不会妥协的。双方的代表已经会面了八次，不过并没有就自治的议题达成任何共识。

The Dalai Lama fled China in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. He lives in exile in the north Indian hill town of Dharamsala.

Burton said the United States "considers Tibet to be a part of China, and we have human rights concerns about the treatment of Tibetans."

"We urge the government of China to protect the unique cultural and religious traditions of Tibet," he said.

达赖在1959年反抗中国管制失败之后逃离了中国。他住在印度北面的城市达兰萨拉。Burton说美国“认为西藏是中国的一部分，而我们在关注西藏在人权上的遭遇。”

他还说：“我们力促中国政府保全西藏独特的文化与宗教传统。”