Dharamshala: Distinguished Chinese author and poet Liao Yiwu, who is persecuted for his critics of China's Communist regime, was scheduled to meet with the 17th Karmapa in Dharamshala, North India in an effort to arrange the exiled leader's visit to Germany.
The meeting took place on Saturday morning of September 8 in Gyuto Monastery, with the purpose of discussing the Karmapa's future travel plans to Berlin, one of which will likely prove to be a difficult task due to his travel restrictions. Since his fleet to India in 2000, he has only been able to set foot overseas twice, with both times being in the US. Nevertheless, the Karmapa has expressed his desire to visit Berlin and to pray for "the departed souls" who have self-immolated.
For the past several months, Liao has been persistently trying to get visitation rights for the Karmapa, stating that one of the last obstacles is the permission from New Delhi. "We are facing the last gateway: the exit permission for the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa..we are waiting to see what the Indian government is going to treat this invitation of the Berlin visit," stated Liao.
The author, who was recently awarded the 2012 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, is one of the most persecuted writers in China. After publishing his poem titled "Massacre" in 1990, he was arrested and detained for four years in prison. Thereafter Liao endured harsh punishments and torture while in prison, leading him to have several psychological breakdowns and two suicide attempts.
Currently, his books are translated in several languages and sold overseas, with the most popular being "The Corpse Walker: Real-Life Stories, China from the Bottom Up," which was prohibited in China soon after it was published. After meeting, Liao stated that he is "very confident that the Karmapa is the new hope for Tibet."
