Chinese Embassy Rejects Visa to Rector After Honoring of Dalai Lama
The Chinese Embassy in Tallinn turned down a visa application from University of Tartu rector Alar Karis, who was supposed to be headed to a Shanghai conference.
"The Chinese Embassy said the university knows why," Karis told Postimees.
Karis has not yet decided whether he will re-apply for a visa, but the university's public relations director will meet the Chinese Embassy on Friday for more details.
On August 18, Karis handed over an honorary doctorate medal to the Dalai Lama at the Academy of Sciences in Tallinn. Karis said that the two incidents could be related.
China reacted coldly after the Dalai Lama's trip to Estonia in August, cancelling the Estonian Minister of Agriculture's visit to China. A letter to the ministry stipulated an "incident“ in August as the reason for the cancellation. But the Chinese Embassy was quick to forgive, calling again for bilateral cooperation and praising ties with Estonia in a letter from the Chinese foreign minister and in a newspaper insert published by Postimees.
Ott Tammik