The Dalai Lama, who is going to visit hurricane struck areas of Taiwan including a village which lost over 500 people, has been having a hard time so far. The demonstrators, waving Chinese flags and banners supporting unification with China, shouted "Go home Dalai Lama, don't come here" as he boarded a train bound for the south. Beijing has said it "resolutely opposes" the Taiwan visit.
Before his departure, he told reporters in India that he had a moral responsibility to visit the victims of the recent typhoon and did not think his trip would cause tension between China and Taiwan. He will pray for victims of Typhoon Morakot, Taiwan's worst storm in 50 years which killed up to 745 people.
Beijing-friendly Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, widely accused of a slow disaster response, allowed the Dalai Lama's visit, but decided not to visit the figure to appease China in hopes for better ties both politically and economically. The Dalai Lama has visited Taiwan in 1997 and 2001.
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