(TibetanReview.net, Jul30’21) – Calling US Secretary of State Mr Antony Blinken’s Jul 28 meeting with the Dalai Lama’s New Delhi representative Mr Ngodup Dongchung interference in its internal affairs, China on Jul 29 reiterated its sovereign claim over Tibet and vowed to respond.
Tibet affairs are purely internal affairs of China, and brook no interference by any external forces and “China will take all necessary measures to defend its rights and interests,” the official Xinhua news agency Jul 29 quoted China’s Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian as saying.
Zhao has also used the occasion to condemn the Dalai Lama, calling him “not a purely religious figure, but a political exile who has long been engaged in separatist activities and attempted to split Tibet from China.”
“China firmly opposes officials of any foreign country engaging in any form of contact with the Dalai Lama,” Zhao has said.
He has called any form of contact between the United States and “the Dalai clique” a violation of US commitment to recognize Tibet as a part of China, and to not support “Tibetan independence” and activities to split China.
“The United States should keep its promise, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs by using Tibet-related issues, and stop providing any support to the ‘Tibetan independence’ forces engaged in anti-China activities,” he was quoted as saying.
