(TibetanReview.net, May20’22) – China has on May 19 condemned the United States for what it said amounted to supporting Tibetan independence following reports that its Under Secretary and Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Ms Uzra Zeya, had met with exile Tibetan leaders in Dharamsala, India.
Speaking at a daily news briefing when asked to comment on a report that Ms Zeya will meet with the Dalai Lama as well and visit Tibetan communities in Nepal, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged the United States to take concrete actions to honor its commitment of acknowledging Tibet as part of China and stop meddling in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Tibet-related issues, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency May 19.
Zhao has called the “Tibetan government-in-exile” an out-and-out separatist political group and an illegal organization violating China’s Constitution and laws. He has maintained that it is not recognized by any country in the world.
He was equally vituperative towards the Dalai Lama, saying “The 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile disguised as a religious figure. He has long been engaging in anti-China separatist activities and attempting to split Tibet from China.”
The exile Tibetan leadership has long stopped calling itself a government in exile, preferring to use the term Central Tibetan Administration, while the Dalai Lama only seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet under Chinese rule. But China maintains that there is no Tibet issue to be discussed and has launched an all-our Sinicization drive to dissolve the cultural and ethnic identity of the Tibetan people.
Zhao has called the appointment of the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues an interference in China’s internal affairs. He has demanded that the United States take concrete actions to honor its commitment of acknowledging Tibet as part of China and not supporting “Tibetan independence.”
He has vowed that “China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
Ms Zeya spent three days in India, beginning May 17, including two in Dharamsala, and is now visiting Nepal for three days in her capacity both as the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights and as the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.