It could only be expected that a figure who all around the world is greeted with hundreds of people camping out for days to hear him speak, would be no slowpoke when it came to embracing social media. That’s certainly the case with the Dalai Lama. He’s set a date for a Google+ hangout with Archbishop Desmond Tutu — both men count a Nobel among their ribboned hard metals.
There’s a reason for the hangout: Archbishop Tutu’s home country, South Africa, denied the visa request filed by the Dalai Lama to attend his friend’s 80th birthday celebration. It’s believed that South Africa was pressured by China, whose economic investment in the country is significant, to deny the request. The Dalai Lama is considered “subversive” by the Chinese government.
Regardless of their geographical separation, the two spiritual leaders will be coming together for some screen time this Saturday, October 8th at 1:30 am PT. Archbishop Tutu’s birthday was on Thursday, October 6th.
The Archbishop had some harsh words for his president: “Hey Mr. Zuma, you and your government don’t represent me,” and went on with: “You represent your own interests.”
Tony Ehrenreich, a leader of the important coalition of South African trade unions, Cosatu, preempted him earlier in the week with the following comments: “Even though China is our biggest trading partner, we should not exchange our morality for dollars or yuan.”
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