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Denise Ho supported the Occupy Movement. Photo: Sam Tsang

Canto-pop star Denise Ho meets Dalai Lama

Singer already risked mainland ire by backing Occupy protests in 2014

Tibet

Hong Kong Canto-pop singer and celebrity Denise Ho Wan-see met the Dalai Lama on her birthday, in yet another move likely to draw the ire of mainland authorities.

The singer, who celebrated her 39th birthday on May 10, posted pictures of herself and Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader on her personal Facebook page on Friday, writing: “It has been an unforgettable birthday. He is a sublime Venerable; a loving grandpa; and also a teacher who shares his wisdom.

“I could feel the blessing and energy rushing through my body just by holding his hands.”

Ho mentioned she was not a Buddhist, but took the Dalai Lama as her most respected teacher.

“His guidance is so powerful because he squares his words with his conduct,” she wrote.

But Ho did not state where the meeting took place.

The 14th Dalai Lama, regarded as an arch-enemy by China, fled to India when he was 23 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 and has remained there ever since. His followers formed a self-claimed Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, which is accused by Beijing of trying to split Tibet from the mainland.

The Canadian-educated singer has been actively involved in political movements in recent years, including in the 2014 Occupy Movement.

Ho was the first Hong Kong celebrity to be hauled away and arrested for taking part in the protests, during the police clearance of Admiralty.

The pop singer had enjoyed growing success in the Mando-pop market, with reportedly 80 per cent of her income coming from the mainland. But her vocal support for the Umbrella Movement might turn out to be career suicide.

There have been repeated calls for pro-Occupy celebrities to be banned from the mainland – including a commentary in central government mouthpiece Xinhua which condemned Ho for “betraying” the motherland.

But Ho told the Post in an interview in 2014 that she valued democracy and social justice far higher than money. She also vowed to fight on for democracy despite the backlash.

The Dalai Lama recently called on Hongkongers not to give up the fight for democracy earlier this month, according to Hong Kong Indigenous member Edward Leung Tin-kei, who met the spiritual leader in India along with 60 others from the mainland, Macau, Taiwan, Europe and the United States.

Renowned singer-songwriter Faye Wong, award-winning actor Tong Leung Chiu-wai and mainland actor Hu Jun were pictured attending a Buddhist assembly in India with members of the Tibetan government-in-exile in February.

Deputy party secretary of Tibet, Wu Yingjie, described the spiritual leader in exile as a “defector and separatist” and openly warned Hong Kong celebrities to stay away from him and his staff.

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