The Dalai Lama is the world’s most famous exile and has long been one of its most admired public figures. But while there is much sympathy across the globe for his campaign for greater autonomy for Tibet, his current tour of European capitals has not been easy. China, so long portrayed as the villain for crushing Tibetan independence, has been on the receiving end of a wave of international sympathy following the earthquake in Sichuan province.

Western leaders appear increasingly wary of courting the Dalai Lama too closely, for fear of angering the emerging Chinese superpower. In London last week, the British prime minister refused to meet the Dalai Lama at his official residence, Number 10 Downing Street, agreeing to see him only as part of an interfaith dialogue. In Berlin, most government officials refused to meet him at all.