Sydney: June 15: Despite fierce opposition from Communist China, Australian PM John Howard is due to meet the Dalai Lama in Sydney today.
The exiled Tibetan leader is now on the final leg of his 11-day tour to Australia.
Reports indicate that Beijing has condemned the meeting, saying the Dalai Lama is a political exile engaged in what it calls splittist activities over Tibet.
Opposition Labor Leader Kevin Rudd met the Dalai Lama on Tuesday.
Howard had been checking his diary for more than a month before his office finally confirmed on Tuesday that a meeting time had been found.
But Canberra says Australia is one of the world’s great liberal democracies and has demanded China to repect its democracy.
Howard will meet the Dalai Lama in the afternoon, shortly after meeting New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.
Clark is in Australia on the final leg of a five-day trade mission.
