China upset over US secretary of state Blinken’s meeting with Tibetans

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 29

China has hit out at the US secretary of state Antony Blinken for meeting Tibetan leader Dalai Lama’s representative during his India visit.

“Any formal contact between the US and the Dalai clique is a violation of the US commitment to acknowledge Tibet being a part of China; do not support Tibetan independence, do not support attempts to separate China,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian.

Blinken had met Ngodup Dongchung, a representative of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), also known as the Tibetan government-in-exile. He had also invited Director of Delhi-based Tibet House Geshe Dorji Damdul for an interaction with representatives from civil society groups.

“The 14th Dalai Lama is not a mere religious figure, but a political exile who has long engaged in anti-China separatist activities and is trying to separate Tibet from China,” Zhao said when questioned on Blinken’s meetings.

China firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of any country and the Dalai Lama, he added. The last significant meeting was between then US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama in Washington in 2016.

“We urge the US to honour its commitment to stop meddling in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Tibetan affairs, and offer no support to Tibet independence forces to engage in anti-China separatist activities,” added Zhao.

Blinken met representatives of the Dalai Lama about three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly greeted the Dalai Lama on his 86th birthday.

Significantly, Xi Jinping visited the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) earlier this month, the first Chinese President to do so after over 30 years.

China has further riled Tibetan sensitivities by stating that it chose the successor to the Dalai Lama through drawing lots with candidates approved by the central government.