(TibetanReview.net, Sep04’20) – Accusing President Donald Trump of turning a blind eye to the situation in occupied Tibet, Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden has said Sep 3 that if voted to power his administration will sanction Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in the occupied territory and will take other steps to support the Tibetan people. His remarks came after concern was expressed that the Democratic Party’s platform for action for the 2020 elections made no mention of Tibet, unlike the Republican Party. Meanwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on China to enter into talks with the Dalai Lama without preconditions.
“My administration will sanction Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses in Tibet, and step up support for the Tibetan people, including by expanding Tibetan language services at Radio Free Asia and Voice of America to get information from the outside world into Tibet,” the PTI news agency Sep 4 quoted Biden as saying.
The report said the Biden also vowed that as president he will meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, appoint a new Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, and insist that the Chinese government restore access to Tibet for US citizens, including our diplomats and journalists.
President Trump has never met with the Dalai Lama and his administration never made an appointment to the congressionally mandated post of Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
Referring to the Chinese government’s Aug 28-29 announcement of plans to further tighten control over Tibet, thereby continue to erode the human rights, religious freedoms, and dignity of the Tibetan people, Biden has said these were only the latest efforts by Beijing to crush ethnic minorities that seek to preserve their distinct culture, language, and beliefs.
“Where (President Donald) Trump has turned a blind eye, a Biden-Harris administration will stand up for the people of Tibet,” Biden was quoted as saying.
Biden called it “disgraceful, though not surprising, that Trump is the first American president in three decades who has not met or spoken with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
“Trump hasn’t even fulfilled the statutory requirement to appoint a Special Coordinator to lead America’s efforts on this vital issue. It’s no wonder China’s leaders believe they have a free hand to deepen repression in Tibet, just as they have in Hong Kong and Xinjiang,” Biden has said.
A day earlier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had called on Beijing to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives without preconditions, to reach a settlement that resolves their differences, the report noted.
“We’re also concerned about Chinese actions in Tibet, in light of the general secretary’s recent calls to ‘Sinicise’ Tibetan Buddhism and fight ‘splittism’ there,” he was quoted as telling reporters Sep 2.
