Congressional Gold Medal for the Dalai Lama

From The Sydney Morning Herald:

President George W. Bush signed into law Wednesday a bill to present to the Dalai Lama a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the U.S. Congress.

The decision to honour the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who is still widely revered in the mountainous region ruled by China, caused outrage in Beijing when the House of Representatives passed the measure two weeks ago.

At the time, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang denounced the decision, which he said "seriously interferes with China's internal affairs and damages China-U.S. relations." [...]

Other non-Americans who have been awarded the Congressional medal include Britain's World War II prime minister, Winston Churchill; Albanian-born humanitarian Mother Teresa; and Nelson Mandela, the first president of post-apartheid South Africa.

When the Dalai Lama is presented with the medal, he and Nelson Mandela will be the only two people who are both Congressional Gold Medal recipients and honourary Canadian citizens.

南無阿彌陀佛