The Chinese government on Thursday lashed out at the US secretary of state Antony Blinken for meeting Tibetan leader Dalai Lama’s representative in New Delhi, terming it “a violation of the US commitment to acknowledge Tibet being a part of China”.
The statement came a day after Blinken began his formal engagements in New Delhi on Wednesday by meeting Ngodup Dongchung of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Dongchung presented Blinken with a scarf from the Dalai Lama and conveyed the CTA’s gratitude for the US administration’s backing of the Tibetan cause.
“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,” said spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry, Zhao Lijian, at a press briefing. Shortly after the meeting, Blinken also met Geshe Dorji Damdul, director of Tibet House in New Delhi, for a civil society roundtable. Asserting that Tibet affairs were purely China’s own affairs and should not be interfered with by any outside forces, Zhao said: “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.”
News Source : varor
