The World - News from Oct. 25, 1988

The Dalai Lama said he has set a time and a place for the first official talks between the exiled Tibetan leadership and China on the future of Tibet. The exiled spiritual leader said details will be announced soon but that he does not expect them to include discussions about his own return. “We’re always telling the government that 100,000 refugees are not important. The main problem is the rights of 6 million Tibetans,” he said from his headquarters in the Indian town of Dharmsala. Beijing, which regards Tibet as an autonomous region of China, last month invited the 54-year-old Dalai Lama to name a time for official negotiations.