Dalai Lama hits out at China during Desmond Tutu speech

8 October 2011 Last updated at 16:44 ET Help

The Dalai Lama has criticised China in a speech via video link, after he was unable to travel to South Africa to celebrate Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday.

The Tibetan spiritual leader spoke with Archbishop Tutu via the link instead of attending an event in person.

The South African government had failed to grant him a visa on time. It maintains it was not pressured by China to block the visit.

Archbishop Tutu asked the Dalai Lama, his fellow Nobel peace laureate, why China feared him.

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