Dalai Lama waits for Beijing "green light" on Tibet talks

       The Dalai Lama said yesterday he was ready to negotiate with China on issues concerning Tibet but wanted to see a "green light".
       "Our position is very clear. We are always ready [to negotiate] as long as we get a green light from China," the Dalai Lama said in Taipei, a day before he was set to leave Taiwan after praying for victims of a recent deadly typhoon.
       He said China had given no green light for talks "so far".
       Chinese officials and representatives of the Dalai Lama have held secretive talks on the Tibet question intermittently since 1979. The last round in November finished with both sides blaming each other for a lack of progress.
       The Dalai Lama's Aug 30 to Sept 4 visit to Taiwan has focused on prayers for victims of a typhoon that killed up to 745 people last month, religious talks and meetings with local Tibetans.
       He told local TV it was too early to know if his travels had hurt Taiwan's own relations with China, which has threatened to take the island by force.
       "No sign of manipulation around my place, my visit, I do not think," he told Public Television Service."But then sometimes, the so-called experts, always they say some speculation like that."
       Beijing has avoided criticising Taiwan's president, who is friendly to China and permitted the Dalai Lama's visit only under pressure from opposition leaders,but has delayed some exchanges and cancelled minor events with Taiwan.
       It's "too early to tell" and would take six to 12 months to find out whether the visit hurts Taiwan-China relations, the Dalai Lama told the television station.Dozens of rowdy protesters from acoalition of political groups stood outside the Dalai Lama's Taipei hotel on Wednesday and yesterday demanding he leave Taiwan early.
       "There's definitely a negative impact on ties with China. How deep it goes we must wait to see," said protest organiser Wang Chuan-ping."If there weren't voices calling for an independent Tibet and an independent Taiwan, we would welcome the Dalai Lama."