US reps, Dalai Lama pinpoint China sore spot Tibet

US reps, Dalai Lama pinpoint China sore spot Tibet

Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi greets Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at the Tsuglagkhang temple in Dharmsala, India, May 10, 2017. (AP photo)
Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi greets Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at the Tsuglagkhang temple in Dharmsala, India, May 10, 2017. (AP photo)

DHARMSALA -- As President Donald Trump appears to be warming to China, a bipartisan group from the US House of Representatives took aim Wednesday at one of Beijing's sore spots: Tibet.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi accused China of using economic leverage to crush Tibetan calls for autonomy. During a meeting with Tibetans and the Dalai Lama at his main temple in the Indian hill town of Dharmsala, she urged the community not to give up.

“You will not be silenced,'' said Ms Pelosi, a California Democrat. “The brutal tactics of the Chinese government to erase race, culture and language of Tibetan people challenges the conscience of the world. We will meet that challenge.''

The visit by Ms Pelosi and seven other US representatives irritated Beijing, where a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry reiterated China's stance that the Dalai Lama is a dangerous separatist.

“The visit by US congressmen to Dharmsala and their meeting with the Dalai Lama has sent a very wrong signal to the outside world about supporting Tibetan independence, which violates the US government's commitment not to support independence for Tibet,'' the spokesman, Geng Shuang, told reporters.

He said Beijing had complained to the US government over the matter, and urged the American representatives “to stop any kind of contact with the Dalai Lama, and take immediate measures to eliminate the negative impact.''

China says the Himalayan region has been part of the country for more than seven centuries. Many Tibetans insist they were essentially independent for most of that time. At least 148 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 to protest China's rule.

In many cases, China has offered aid packages to foreign governments on the condition that they support China's position on issues such as Tibet and Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing has pledged to take control of, by force if necessary. Mongolia said in December that it would no longer allow visits by the Dalai Lama after a recent trip by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader led China to suspend talks on a major loan.

“China uses its economic leverage to silence the voices of friends of Tibet,'' Ms Pelosi said Wednesday. “But if we don't speak out against repression in Tibet and the rest of China because of China's economic power, we lose all moral authority to talk about human rights anywhere else in the world.''

Ms Pelosi told the gathering that she would limit her comments on China's “brutal tactics'' because the Dalai Lama had “prayed for me that I would rid myself of my negative attitude about dwelling on the negative too much”.

The Dalai Lama, meanwhile, said Tibetans do not need weapons in their struggle for autonomy, and again prescribed a path of nonviolence and compassion. While he has devolved political power to an elected government, the Dalai Lama is still widely revered by Tibetans as their most influential leader.

Tibetans who remain in the closely guarded region “are living in fear and anxiety. Their life is at risk, but they are still preserving our traditions,'' said the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet to India in 1959 during an abortive uprising.

“We all are dedicated to the Tibetan cause, but should not think of harming the Chinese people as such. We need to befriend them'' and work through compassion to resolve the Tibetan issue, he said.

The timing of the US congressional visit may irk Mr Trump, who just weeks ago boasted of enjoying cozy conversations and chocolate cake with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Trump's Florida resort. During Mr Xi's official visit last month, Beijing also approved a raft of patent applications for Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter.

President Trump's rhetoric on China has warmed considerably since the US presidential campaign, when he repeatedly called the Asian giant a currency manipulator and an economic adversary of the United States.

On Tuesday, Ms Pelosi and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin, posed for photos holding up a Tibetan soccer jersey. And earlier in the week, the group visited Nepal, where the government has been criticized for not allowing Tibetans to protest in front of the Chinese Embassy.

Ms Pelosi said the delegation, in talks with Nepalese officials, had raised the issue of “the wellbeing of the thousands of Tibetans who have been living in Nepal for decades as well as the rights of other minorities,'' according to a statement.

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