I hope Dalai Lama realise this is his last chance to reconcile the 2.5 million Chinese Tibetans with the 1.3 billion Chinese of the other 55 ethnicities.
Else he is history.

Peter , Singapore, Singapore

Hope the talks produce positive results.

Xu zhongchuan, shanghai, china

The upcoming visit by EU leaders, the forthcoming Olympics plus global levels of individual protest has caused the CCP to reconsider it's position with regard to the Dalai Lama. Whether the CCP will open meaningful negotiations remains to be seen. The world watches and waits for a positive outcome

Colin, Carmarthen, UK

If China were to have a diplomatic issue with the UK, it would speak directly to Gordon Brown, not the Archbishop of Canterburry. As a social-capitalist state, China subscribes to the convention that both State and Religion should never be merged.

Esther, London,

I have a word to Dalai: Recall what you have done all these days. Talk sincerely with the central government when you have the chance. Abandon your secessionist attempts. Repent, and the shore is at hand. The door of dialogue is always open. All Chinese people will welcome you if you really regret .

Keen, BEIJING,

The proposed talks are a ruse for marking time for communists till the games are over in August. The issue of repression of the occupied Tibetan populace will then be again put in the cold storage by the politburo.
havent they been talking to Dalai Lama's reps since 1980s? Its really saddening.

NK Pant, Dehradun, India

I hope the intention of the Chinese government to engage the Dalai's reps is to appease western expectation only; to treat this as PR, a delay tactic, in view of the upcoming Olympics. When it's over, I hope China will not budge an inch on any issue relating to Tibet. Dalai is "history."

S K LIn, Hong Kong,

Please follow Dalai Lama's own statements, in which he insists that for Tibet to have any chance to modernize, Tibet has to remain as part of PRC. Before his exile, he was an elected vice chairperson of the Chinese Parliament "People's Congress" of PRC in Beijing for several years.

Yujun Lao , Coventry , UK

"The Dalai Lama does not want independence but only autonomy."

Then why he founded his exile gouvernment?

Jochen , Dieburg, Germany

"The Dalai Lama wants to re-instate a mediaeval theocracy"

Utter nonsense, no one wants to re-instate a mediaeval theocracy simply to give the Tibetans some say over the government of their land which the Chinese have occupied.

Mike, Nottm, UK

It's only because of international pressure and financial reasons they have made this positive step. Hopefully it will be constructive. China has an opportunity to redeem themselves. China has behaved like an abusive partner in a relationship, if they can't live in peace then they should divorce/sep

Rajen, LONDON, ENGLAND

Luke, be serious! Just try to look at the issue objectively and take off the pro-China glasses you are looking through. The Dalai Lama DOES want only autonomy and not independence. He is a peaceful man wishing for protection of his people who are being systematically wiped out by the Chinese.

Jonathan Dolby, Lincoln, UK

If i was the chinese government i would engage some 20 IT guys and tell them to write in every forum, online magazine and discussion what an un-trust-worthy creep that dalai lama is and when people like me are reading the comments on this article they might rethink their position about the dalai L

Eyen, Budapest, Hu

The westerners who pontificate about Tibet need to take a reality check. The Dalai Lama wants to re-instate a mediaeval theocracy which left the monasteries rich and Tibetans wretchedly poor. I hear no hysterical calls for democracy in Tibet from D.C. or London. Now, why is this? I smell hypocrisy.

Bill, Suzhou, China

Now those Western leaders find no reasons any longer for boycotting the Olympic!!!! The Dalai Lama is indeed a sheer blackmailer in our eyes. Yes, I am a Chinese people!! But I am not paid to post this comment as the Westerners always suspect!!!!!!

Zhang, Kunming, China

According to White House policies, we shouldn't negotiate with terrorists, such as Dalai Lama. His hands are soaked with blood of Chinese citizens! He belongs to Gantanamo.

Laura Wang, Leicestershire,

I'd like to be positive about this development but I suspect the Chinese may have agreed to talk just to take the heat off them during the Olympics while actually having no intention of making any genuine concessions.

When the media gets “Tibet Fatigue” and the Olympics are over what then?

Ian, Mansfield, GB

Wait and see! This could just be Chinese tokenism. I do not see how the Dalai Lama can move back to Tibet under the current system. He would have to admit all sorts of contrived nonsense before the regime would be even half satisfied. Sounds like a non-starter unless China pulls out completely

Colin, Carmarthen, UK

The Dalai is not a free agent. How will the Dharamsala militants react ?
Whilst Dalai spends his time schmoozing with Rice, Pelosi, Bush and other western leaders, the Chinese will find it hard to believe that he is only interested in greater autonomy and a return to Lhasa.

L. Stewart, Cranbrook, UK

What a very disapointing development to those who wish to use "free-Tibet" to stir-up anti-China feelings around the world or to make money for ttheir living.

James, Scotland , UK

This might be only one step of the long way to home to Tibetans. I wonder why Chinese government change the mind after they sweard at Dalai Lama. I wanna trust the peaceful settlement, but I can't at this moment. I think Chinese statement is to elude International criticism over Tibet issue.

Daichi, Tokyo, Japan

well beiijng, and btw i was born and bred there, has never lived up to its words, be them aggressive rhetoric or sights of reconciliation. until beijing actually does anything to show it has changed, i won't believe its words. nevertheless i think this is a sign of internal unrest in beiijng

pamanush, Hong Kong,

What Dalai wants for his plan of 'real autonomy' includes setting up his own foreign representative office (i.e. foreign affairs), and evicting all non-Tibetan people currently living in Tibetan areas, and encompassing large tracts of areas in Sichun, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and parts of India.

edwin heng, Singapore,

Incidentally, the Chinese psyche can always be trusted when it comes to world affairs... the very reason China has always been at the losing end in its encounters with other international powers in the past 2 centuries is precisely because it is too trusting, too gullible, too adhering to promises.

edwin heng, Singapore,

So many people were cheated by Dalai Lama, the world's biggest slavedriver!

Shuai, Shanghai,

Under pressure of world leaders?Why haven't we seen that under the pressure of world leaders, British Army decide to get back to Britain from Iraq?

Su, Xian,

"The Dalai Lama does not want independence but only autonomy." It is just a lie,absolutely. Of course,CHINA will not agree.

Luke Zhao , Xi'an, China

The Chinese can never be trusted, history quite clearly shows us that left wing governments seldom tell the truth and have no qualms what so ever when it come to going back on their word. Our own government is a glaring example when it comes to breaking it's word and telling lies.

D case, Newquay,

This is just a sop by the Chinese government to appease the international community while the Olympics are on, they will do an about face soon after, if not before, with the usual excuses that the Dalai Lama is not sincere, which he patently is. The Dalai Lama is supposed to renounce things that he is not guilty of in the first place. So what nonsense is this? On several occasions the Communists have met with the Dalai Lamas representatives and no meeting has resulted in anything of any productive value. The International Court at The Hague accused China of genocide in Tibet and that is indeed the long-term goal. The Communists may be subtler, almost, than the Nazi’s but that is nevertheless their intention with the Tibetan people and culture.

Jigme Choder, Stedham, England, U.K.

If I were the representative I'd watch my back... might well be arrested and thrown into prison for 're-education' purposes.

Tim Ferris, London,

I dearly hope something worthwhile comes of this, but unfortunately I feel I should keep my expectations confined by reality.

Rob, Ithaca, NY,

At last! and may they mean it... FM, UK

Francis Monkman, Leighton Buzzard, UK

its good that the chinese side have atlast agreed to have talk but, could this be that the chinese are playing the jackal in monk’s robes, kind of thing that thay have acuesed the lama of ,,,,

M Arun kumar , Hyderabad, INDIA