His Holiness the Dalai Lama has begun a controversial five-day tour of Taiwan this week. His primary purpose is to bring comfort to the survivors of Typhoon Morakot, which killed nearly 800 people in Taiwan on August 8. The visit is "controversial" because of China, which is reacting to the visit with its standard unreasonable hysteria.
The Associated Press reports that China has canceled some planned events, including a ceremony to recognize the beginning of direct air service between Taiwan and mainland China. How broken up Taiwan is over this I cannot say.
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou and most other political leaders are carefully keeping their distance from His Holiness. However, according to Time magazine's Natalie Tso, President Ma didn't dare say no to His Holiness's visit. A recent poll showed that 60 percent of Taiwanese approved of the Dalai Lama's visit, and President Ma's popularity is at an all-time low because of what is seen as a slow response to Typhoon Morakot.
So, His Holiness visited tearful typhoon survivors and led an estimated 10,000 mourners in a mass prayer in Kaohsiung. The prayer service was protested by members of Taiwan's Labor Party, which favors unification with China. These are, I assume, the same fellows who posed for pictures for the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua.
Ko Shu-ling of the Taipei Times reports that President Ma has ordered no special security for His Holiness, in spite of the protests. Prayers and invocations for His Holiness's safety are in order.