By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, June 25: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday issued a call for ethnic unity during his visit to a middle school for Golok Tibetans and the Tibetan Buddhist Hongjue Temple in the so-called Qinghai province (Amdo) in Tibet. This visit follows the high profile meeting between US lawmakers and officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile, as well as their meeting with the Dalai Lama in India.
Xi emphasised the need to foster “a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation” and to strengthen “love for both the country and the religion” within Tibetan Buddhism. He urged party officials and government representatives to promote national unity in the province, which has a predominantly Tibetan populace. Xi also called for adherence to the sinicisation of religion and enhanced management of religious affairs and venues.
These remarks came after a delegation of U.S. lawmakers, led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, met with the Dalai Lama and visited the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamshala, India. The lawmakers asserted that they would not allow China to influence the choice of the Dalai Lama’s successor and indicated that Washington would pressure Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders, as prescribed in the Resolve Tibet Act, which was passed in both the US congress and the US Senate with bipartisan support.
In response, China’s foreign ministry reiterated its stance on Thursday, stating that the Dalai Lama must “thoroughly reflect on and completely correct his political propositions” for talks to resume with Beijing. Formal negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama’s representatives have been stalled since 2010.
Beijing has condemned the recently passed Resolve Tibet Act, insisting that Tibet is an inseparable part of China and rejecting any external interference. Chinese officials urged the United States to recognise the sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, respect China’s core interests, refrain from engaging with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, and stop sending misleading messages to the international community.
