NEW DELHI - Several hundred Tibetan exile leaders are gathered in northern India today.
They are there for a landmark meeting that is widely expected to determine the direction of the movement that has struggled for decades to win autonomy from China.
The weeklong meeting that begins Monday was called by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, who says new ideas are needed following the repeated failure of talks with China.
Today, the Dalai Lama's envoys to the last round of talks with Beijing issued a statement saying they had presented China with a detailed plan on how Tibetans could meet their needs of autonomy within the framework of the Chinese constitution.
But China has apparently rejected the plan and the statement says recent Chinese statements distort the position and proposal the envoys have outlined.
Chinese officials say no progress was made in the talks two weeks ago, and they call the Tibetan stance `a trick' and say it lacks sincerity.
