Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the Dalai Lama in Berlin on Sunday for a meeting despite official opposition from China. Beijing has complained that the Dalai Lama is using the meeting to push for Tibet’s independence; for this reason, it has cancelled talks on the rule of law, due to take place in Munich, for “technical reasons.” German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries had been due to attend.

Unusually, China did not censor Internet postings that insulted Merkel, calling her a "witch" and saying she was "playing with fire."

At the end of the hour-long meeting neither the Chancellor nor the Dalai Lama made any statement. For German authorities they were “private talks.”

A German government spokesman, Thomas Steg, said he was confident that the meeting would "not disturb the good state of German-Chinese relations and co-operation".

Ulrich Wilhelm, another government spokesman, said the meeting Sunday was part of a series of contacts between the chancellor and religious leaders. “Tibet is a human rights issue that we have brought up with China,” Wilhelm said, adding that she “assured him of her support in his efforts to maintain the cultural identity of Tibet and in his policy of non-violent striving toward religious and cultural autonomy."

But Jiang Yu, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the Dalai Lama was not simply a religious figure. "He is a long time political exile engaged in separatist activities," Jiang said. “We [. . .] oppose any country or individual who uses the Dalai issue as a means to meddle in China's internal affairs.”

Since she became chancellor Angela Merkel has made human rights a key component of her foreign policy and she has raised human rights publicly during her August trip to China.

Although the Dalai Lama has visited Germany several times, previous chancellors have refused to meet him.

Last Thursday the Dalai Lama met Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, drawing a protest from the Chinese Embassy.

“Wherever I go, China protests. The Chinese are simply testing how far they can go”, the Dalai Lama said.

The Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet which has been occupied by China since 1950. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, fled Tibet for India in 1959 during a failed uprising against Chinese rule.

In Tibet anyone in possession of his photo can be charged and arrested. (PB)