It has been more than 50 years since the Chinese government sent troops into mountainous Tibet. Today, Beijing still rules there. It's been more than 40 years since the Dalai Lama, political and spiritual leader of Tibet, escaped over the Himalayas to Northern India, where he still heads a government-in-exile.
This week, for the first time in 20 years, a high level envoy of the Dalai Lama is in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, meeting with the Chinese government in what could be a tentative first step in the Dalai Lama's journey back home, his people's journey to a new autonomy.
It's hard to know what goes on between Red China and the saffron robes, but those who watch the two countries say something's in the air.
Dr. Michael van Walt, Adjunct Professor of International Law at Golden Gate University School of Law, and Legal Advisor to the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to the Tibetan Government in Exile
Orville Schell, Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at University of California at Berkeley, and Research Associate at the Center for Chinese Studies
John Pomfret, correspondent for the Washington Post.
Dr. Michael van Walt, the trips are organized by the foreign ministry. listen
John Pomfret, it's very difficult to tell how significant a problem that is. listen
