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Prince Charles raises Tibet issue in China talks

Prince Charles delivers a speech at a conference on environment at St James’s Palace on 5 February 2008, in London, England. Prince Charles raised the issue of Tibet during talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in London on Thursday, a spokesman at his Clarence House office said.WPA Pool/Getty Images/Kirsty Wigglesworth/UK

Britain’s Prince Charles raised the issue of Tibet during talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao in London on Thursday, a spokesman at his Clarence House office said.

It was the heir-to-the-throne’s first ever private meeting with a Chinese leader in Britain, and the spokesman described it as good although he refused to give details of what they discussed.

“The prince and the president discussed a full range of issues of mutual concern, including climate change, the reconstruction of areas damaged by last year’s earthquake (in China) and the situation in Tibet,” he said.

The Chinese leader, who is in London for the G20 summit, told the prince through an interpreter: “Your Royal Highness… places high importance on China-UK relations and you actively promoted practical co-operation between our two countries.

“We commend your efforts and thank you for that.”

Prince Charles is a long-time supporter of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet who recently accused China of having transformed the Himalayana region into a “hell on earth” in a wave of repressive campaigns since a failed uprising on 10 March 1959.

Copyright © 2009 AFP

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