Matters of sovereignty

French Ambassador to China Herve Ladsous said he was disappointed, and could not understand Chinese indignation at Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting the Dalai Lama.

We've heard this before: Neither France as a country nor its president intend to derail bilateral ties. On the contrary, France will continue to be loyal to friendship with China. Sarkozy, as the French president, has an obligation to embrace the Dalai Lama.

All this is familiar stuff to us.