ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministry of China has said that the Dalai Lama needs to rectify his political views completely before formal contact with Beijing can be restored.
At a regular press briefing on Thursday, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated Beijing’s longstanding stance, saying: Our policy has been consistent and clear regarding contact and negotiations between the central government of China and the 14th Dalai Lama. The point is that the 14th Dalai Lama has to reconsider and restructure his political opinions on a fundamental level,” according to Reuters.
Since 2010, formal dialogue between the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and Chinese authorities has been frozen. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 after a failed rebellion against Chinese rule in Tibet and has been in exile since then. Although he resigned his political position in the Tibetan government-in-exile in 2011, a body not recognised by Beijing, he is still the spiritual leader of Tibetans everywhere.
Even though he has repeatedly claimed to want greater autonomy and not outright independence of Tibet, China still considers the 88-year-old monk a separatist and does not want him to have any official dealings with foreign governments. Meetings with foreign leaders, such as former US presidents, have been met with strong criticism by Beijing in the past.
The tensions have re-emerged after a recent visit by a delegation of US lawmakers to India, where they met the Dalai Lama and promised to support the right of self-determination of Tibet. The group also requested President Joe Biden to sign the bipartisan Resolve Tibet Act, which demands a peaceful resolution to the Tibet issue and states that Tibetans must be allowed to select the successor of the Dalai Lama without any Chinese interference.
Although the United States formally acknowledges Tibet as a part of China, the new legislation is being viewed by analysts as a possible threat to the position. Beijing has firmly opposed the bill, terming it as an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of China.
Lin said that the United States should take the significance and sensitivity of the Tibet-related issues seriously and respect the core interests of China.
He also advised Washington to avoid any kind of contact with the Dalai clique and to avoid sending the wrong signals to the outside world.
China insists that Tibet has been a part of its territory for centuries and any talk of Tibetan autonomy or succession of the Dalai Lama is a direct threat to national sovereignty.
