By Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, June 11: China has urged the United States to stop supporting or endorsing in any way the “Tibet independence” forces and their anti-China and separatist activities, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said in a press conference on Monday.
Lin’s remarks came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken extended best wishes to Dalai Lama on his 89th birthday and reaffirmed US commitment to supporting efforts to preserve Tibet’s linguistic, cultural and religious heritage. The US State Department wrote, “The United States extends best wishes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the occasion of his 89th birthday. Through his promotion of nonviolence and compassion, as well as his commitment to advancing human rights for all, his Holiness serves as an inspiration for the Tibetan community and many around the world. The United States reaffirms our commitment to support efforts to preserve Tibetans’ distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious heritage, including the ability to freely choose and venerate religious leaders without interference”.
Spokesperson Lin said that the position of the Chinese government on Tibet related issues is consistent and clear. Tibet’s affairs are China’s internal affairs which invites no interference by any external forces. “Over the years, Xizang (china’s name for Tibet) has enjoyed a booming economy, social harmony and stability, and sound preservation of its cultural heritage. The rights and freedoms of all ethnic groups in Xizang, including the freedom of religious belief and the freedom to use and develop their own spoken and written languages, are fully protected,” Lin said, adding this is a fact and seen by many in the international community.
Condemning the Dalai Lama, the Chinese spokesperson said, “As many people know, the 14th Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure, but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion”, reported Chinese state media China Daily.
“We urge the United States to fully understand the gravity and sensitivity of Xizang-related issues, truly respect China’s core interests, be fully aware of the Dalai group’s anti-China and separatist nature, honour the commitments the United States has made to China on issues related to Xizang, and stop supporting or endorsing in any way the ‘Tibet independence’ forces and their anti-China and separatist activities,” Lin said.
Since the passage of the “Resolve Tibet Act” in the US Congress and Senate, China has intensified its pushback against Washington DC. Prior to a US Congressional delegation trip to India last month, Beijing issued “strong concerns” and urged the US to “see clearly the anti-China separatism nature” of the Dalai Lama and his followers.
The Chinese communist party warned US lawmakers not to visit India and engage with the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration. Micheal McCaul who led the delegation to Dharamshala in his speech stated that “Our delegation received a letter from the CCP, warning us not to come here. They repeated their false claim that Tibet has been part of China since the 13th century. But we did not let the CCP intimidate us, and we are here today.”
One Response
The CCP regime is worried that President Joe Biden might meet HH The Dalai Lama as he had pledged during his campaign four years ago. It is also to send a message to the US President not to sign the BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION PROMOTING PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO THE CHINA-TIBET DISPUTE! It is more than likely President Joe Biden will sign the bipartisan legislation but there is a danger that events might over take them as Joe Biden’s candidacy as the Democratic nominee is getting more and more slippery by the day! The President is unlikely to step aside unless he is forced to. The stakes are extremely high since Trump is going to stop supporting Ukraine and NATO if he happens to wins the election. This will greatly diminish the outreach and power projection of the US as the only global super power. For the Tibetans, no matter what the CCP is saying, we must not stick to the policy that was made 50 long years ago! It is claimed that the present official policy of CTA was first enunciated in 1974! Since then so much water has flowed in the river Ganges and many geopolitical changes have reverberated across the world! It was made at a time when the west was courting communist China for its mouth watering market and as a counter weight against another communist State; the erstwhile USSR. After fifty long years, the geopolitical exigencies and strategic ramifications have vastly changed beyond redemption. Communist China and the United States are locked in a do or die battle for ideological supremacy and geopolitical influence. The US is determined to challenge the Chinese communist upstart with all its might by using its military might, economic degradation and technological superiority. Looking at the sudden decline of the Chinese economic growth, it looks like the Chinese over confidence to overthrow the US has spluttered. Therefore, the ambition of the Chinese communist party to be the super power has suffered a road block and it may not even recover to make a come back. The US, The British and later the Indians are responsible for diminishing Tibet’s sovereignty by endorsing baseless and entirely fabricated Chinese claims over Tibet! The British and Russian imperialists signed treaties over the head of Tibetans to prevent each other from getting a foothold in Tibet by creating a so called suzerainty that they awarded to China over Tibet in the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention for their own vested imperialist ambitions! This diminished Tibets sovereignty and the Chinese were only too eager to use this as a pretext to make unsubstantiated claims over Tibet. Tibetans have consistently rejected any Chinese claims over Tibet and never acknowledged the imperialist tool to stifle Tibetan independence. In 1954, India made the Himalayan blunder to sign the Panch Sheel which stated “Tibet part of China and India”. In 2003, Atal Behari Bajpai made the second blunder to endorse “Tibet as a part of the PRC”!!! These mindless and extremely myopic policies of India has brought the greatest disaster to India since independence in 1947. Communist China militarised Tibet and built the so called Qinghai-Tibet Railway to Lhasa. This has given the Chinese the ability to bring thousands of troops to the Indo-Tibet border in 48 hours! Today, India is constantly kept on tenterhooks by a probable Chinese attack on the long Himalayan border with occupied Tibet! It’s hanging like a Damocles sword over the Indian psyche! Many right thinking Indians especially retired Indian army Generals who know the border regions and ex-Indian ambassadors are speaking with one voice calling the Indian Government to have a policy that takes into account India’s long term strategic security that obviously is to reinstate Tibet as the historical buffer between India and China. Influential people such as former ambassador Dilip Sinha, Ex-Indian Army General GD Bakshi, Retired Indian Army Major General Marinal Suman, who is also an author and columnist are all speaking with one voice that INDIA MUST REVOKE its stand on Tibet in order to secure the northern border which would take away 90% of India’s security concerns! It will relief thousands of Indian and Tibetan troops both in the ITBP and SFF from the unearthly cold Himalayas and also safe millions dollars worth of infrastructure and weapons installation. Indian experts have concluded that there would be no peace on India’s northern frontier as long as communist China illegally occupied Tibet. Therefore, they see no other option than support Tibet’s historical independence status. Tibetans must seize this opportunity and seek complete Independence for Tibet. The US support for Tibetan people’s self-determination is also based on the understanding of Tibet’s historical independence and its status as a buffer zone that kept peace in Asia. There was no war between China and India because there was no border between the two. TIBET WAS AN INDEPENDENT BUFFER STATE THAT KEPT THEM APART. However, as soon as Tibet was illegally occupied by communist China, China invaded India in 1962! ONLY REINSTATING TIBET’S INDEPENDENCE WILL BRING PEACE AND TRANQUILITY TO THE INDO-TIBET BORDER. IT WILL BENEFIT THE TIBETAN PEOPLE AND IT WILL ALSO GREATLY ENHANCE INDIA’S SECURITY!