U.S. honors Dalai Lama

Risking China’s ire, official Washington heaped honor and praise on the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, with President Bush bestowing on him one of the nation’s highest civilian awards -- the Congressional Gold Medal.

It was the first time since the Tibetan spiritual leader fled into exile in 1959 that a sitting U.S. president met with him in public, and the solemn ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda marked an escalation of support for him from American political leaders.

“Americans cannot look to the plight of the religiously oppressed and close our eyes or turn away,” Bush said to an overflow audience of lawmakers and well-wishers. “And that is why I will continue to urge the leaders of China to welcome the Dalai Lama to China. They will find this good man to be a man of peace and reconciliation.”

The Dalai Lama, 72, fled his native Tibet -- a religiously and culturally distinct region -- when the Chinese government sent in troops to quell a rebellion. Many people consider him Tibet’s rightful political and spiritual leader, though he does not advocate independence.

“I am seeking a meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people within the People’s Republic of China,” the Dalai Lama said.

In the Rotunda, the revered heart of the Capitol, the Dalai Lama’s saffron robes stood out against the austere marble walls. His manner was cheerful, even playful, joking that his decision to speak in English was “something like my English examination in front of dignitaries and scholars.”

“The consistency of American support for Tibet has not gone unnoticed in China. Where this has caused some tension in the U.S.-China relations I feel a sense of regret,” he said.

Outside, a crowd of thousands waited for him to speak.

“For me, it feels like now the whole world knows about Tibet,” said Tserong Tashe, a 35-year-old wallpaper-hanger who had traveled from New York.

The Chinese government sent multiple warnings that it would consider any recognition of the Dalai Lama to be a provocation.

“China is strongly resentful of and resolutely opposes this,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said before the event, according to the official New China News Agency.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who sponsored the resolution awarding the medal, said China’s ambassador to Washington had visited her three times to try to dissuade her from pursuing such visible support.

“The Chinese government was very concerned and deeply opposed,” she said.

Feinstein said Congress was not seeking to send a message to China, other than “that this man is held in the highest esteem.”

But Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Burlingame), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, suggested that the Olympic Games slated to be held in Beijing have focused attention on human rights in China.

“There is nothing that will guarantee the right atmosphere for the Beijing Olympics more certainly and more forcefully than you inviting this man of peace to Beijing for serious discussions and, once and for all, resolving the dispute between you and his holiness,” he said.

Bush met with the Dalai Lama in the White House a day earlier, though in deference to the Chinese, he saw him as a friend in the residence and not the Oval Office. It was the Dalai Lama’s third visit with Bush and his 12th visit with a current or former U.S. president.

Bush made no excuses for meeting with the Tibetan monk, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

“I have consistently told the Chinese that religious freedom is in their nation’s interest,” Bush told reporters before he went to Capitol Hill. The president added that he did not think the award would “severely damage relations” with China.

Charles Freeman, a China scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that in China, it is a particularly sensitive time on the political calendar -- the Chinese Communist Party congress, held every five years, is in session this week.

But he said that the ceremony was not tied to an event. “This has been in the works for quite a while,” Freeman said. “People in this town genuinely like and respect the Dalai Lama.”

So did those outside.

One of them was Tsewang Rinzin, who three years ago was jailed for writing “Save Tibet” on a public wall in China. He said he was released after three months with a warning that if he advocated for Tibet again, he would be killed. Rinzin and a friend fled on foot to India, and from there, emigrated to the United States. These days, the 28-year-old works in a restaurant in Boston; his family is still in Tibet.

“My heart is very, very happy,” he said as he tried to catch a glimpse of the 146th recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.

Introducing the Dalai Lama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) noted that he had worked a kind of miracle: calming the rancorous interactions of Democrats and Republicans.

“[He] brought a day of peace and reconciliation to the Capitol of the United States,” she said.

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maura.reynolds@latimes.com

johanna.neuman@latimes.com

Times staff writer James Gerstenzang contributed to this report.