China has taken the historic step of agreeing to meet with a representative of the Dalai Lama, but oly time will tell whether this is an empty gesture designed to cool off international pressure ahead of the olympics or a significant change in their Tibet policy.

China, in an abrupt shift, announced that it will meet with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader Beijing had accused of masterminding deadly antigovernment protests in Tibet.

"In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days," an unnamed official was quoted as saying by China's state-run Xinhua news agency Friday afternoon.

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The official went on to say "the policy of the central government towards Dalai has been consistent and the door of dialogue has remained open."

An official at Xinhua confirmed the report, but declined to say which government agencies would be holding the talks.

Source: online.wsj.com