12 May 2008
Tibet official: Dalai Lama would consider attending Olympics if invited
(Reuters) A senior Chinese official has asked whether the Dalai Lama would agree to attend the Beijing Olympics to ease recent tensions, a Tibet government-in-exile legislator has claimed. Khedroob Thondup, a Taipei-based member of Tibet's parliament-in-exile, said a senior leader in Beijing had called him about two weeks ago to "sound out" the Olympic visit idea, but he did not identify the leader. "If they want to invite His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] to the Olympics, that would be a big change", Thondup said. "I'm sure he would consider this."