(TibetanReview.net, Aug13’25) – China said Aug 12 that it was suspending all diplomatic engagements with Czech President Petr Pavel, angered by his Jul 27 meeting with the Dalai Lama, which Beijing claims undermined its sovereignty and territorial integrity. China calls the Dalai Lama a separatist even though he only seeks autonomy for his Tibetan homeland.
“In disregard of China’s repeated protests and strong opposition, Pavel went to India to meet with the Dalai Lama. This seriously contravenes the political commitment made by the Czech government to the Chinese government, and harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Czech news agency ČTK Aug 12 quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian as saying, citing a statement from the Chinese Embassy in Prague.
Pavel traveled to India’s Union Territory of Ladakh, where the exile spiritual leader of Tibet was sojourning at the time, after an official visit to Japan, to congratulate him on his 90th birthday.
The Chinese Embassy said at the time that Pavel ignored Beijing’s position and the state of bilateral relations while calling on the Czech Republic to adhere to its one-China political commitment.
The Czech government maintained at the time that Pavel was visiting the Dalai Lama privately, having broken from his government delegation to Japan for this purpose.
But this did not matter to China. “In light of the severity of Pavel’s provocative action, China will cease all engagement with him,” Lin has added.
Czechia has historically kept close relations with the exile Tibetan leadership from the days of its post USSR-breakup establishment, with its first President Vaclav Havel being a personal friend with the Dalai Lama. It displayed banners that celebrated the Tibetan leader’s birthday in the center of Prague, the report noted.
The Dalai Lama has long advocated for Tibet being part of a China that protects the Tibetan people’s human rights, culture, and identity.
China launched an armed invasion of Tibet soon after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949. It then forced the Tibetan side to sign a 17-Point Agreement, enshrining a sort of “one country, two systems” policy, which it, however, did not adhere to, effecting its total takeover in the name of democratic reform after a brutal armed suppression of a largely peaceful Tibetan uprising protests in capital Lhasa.