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In August 2008, the eyes of the world will be on China, when the sporting spectacle that is the Olympic Games is celebrated. Tibet as a nation is not allowed to take part in these celebrations. The Tibet Intergroup asks for support to bring Tibet to the 2008 Games.
US President George Bush received His Holiness the dalai Lama at the White House on Tuesday 16 October, even as China rebuffed the Tibetan spiritual leader's high profile visit by putting off a meeting among world powers on Iran's nuclear crisis. It was the first time that a sitting US president appeared in public with the Dalai Lama, whose arrival in Washington was greeted by a crowd of Tibetans clad in traditional dress, honouring the spiritual icon with blessings, songs and dances.
At a ceremony on Wednesday 17 October His Holiness received the congressional Gold Medal, a top US civilian award. Insisting that the Dalai Lama is a dangerous separatist, the Chinese authorities in Beijing protested over the Congressional award. They said that the award "will seriously interfere in China's internal affairs and damage China-US relations".
The reaction of the Chinese authorities came barely a month after it strongly protested against German Chancellor Angela Merkel's historic meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Berlin.
Before arriving in Washington, His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed a huge crowed of followers in New York City for two hours. He said that "the Tibetan cause is a cause of justice, and that is something that cannot fade away. That is the nature of truth - that it cannot die with time and with the change of generations."
The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
On 23 September, Angela Merkl received The Dalai Lama for a private discussion. It is the first time that the Spiritual Head of Tibetan Buddhism has been received at German government headquarters. The government spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm said that the themes linked to human rights are always taken up with the Chinese authorities, in the framework of the German/Chinese dialogue and also discussions between China and the European Union. 
Mrs. Merkel attaches importance to meetings with dignitaries of the great religions, either in Berlin or on visits to other countries. She had visited China last August, the subject of human rights was on top of the agenda. During her visit, she met Chinese journalists critical of the regime. On 14 September, the German Ambassador in Beijing, Michael Schaefer, was summoned by the Chines authorities to inform hin of their diapproval of Angela Merkel receiving the Dalai Lama.
Tibet.net, official website of the Central Tibetan Administration, October 2007