TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Dalai Lama told a delegation of Taiwanese businesspeople on Wednesday (Dec. 14) that he was willing to visit Taiwan again once the COVID-19 pandemic was over.

The more than 10 delegates were members of an association of Taiwanese businesses based in New Delhi who had traveled to the Tibetan religious leader’s base in Dharamshala, CNA reported.

He said he hoped to be eating authentic Taiwanese food again, while also expressing the wish that Taiwan could use the force of its freedom and democracy to change China. While the conversation focused on Buddhism and on religious issues in general, a member of the delegation also asked the Dalai Lama about Taiwan.

The Tibetan leader said his three visits to the country had left a deep impression. Once the COVID pandemic was finished, he would want to travel again, he told the businesspeople.