China on Thursday reacted angrily over the meeting of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with the representative of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama during his visit to India. Beijing said it violated America's commitment to recognize Tibet as part of China and not support Tibetan independence.
Blinken met Ngodup Dongchung, a Tibetan government-in-exile official and representative of the Dalai Lama, in New Delhi on Wednesday. During this time, Dongchung thanked the Joe Biden administration for America's continued support to the Tibet movement. Apart from this, Blinken also met Geshe Dorjee Damdu, director of Tibet House in Delhi. It was the first time since US President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama in 2016 that a US government minister had met a person associated with Tibet's government-in-exile.
China has adopted a strict attitude regarding this meeting. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, "Tibetan affairs are purely China's internal affairs that allow no foreign interference. The 14th Dalai Lama is by no means just a religious person but rather a political exile who has long been engaged in anti-China separatist activities attempting to split Tibet from China."
He further said, "Any formal contact between the US and the Dalai clique is a violation of the US commitment to acknowledge Tibet as part of China, not to support Tibetan independence and attempts to separate it from China. We urge the US to honour its commitment to stop meddling in China's internal affairs. And offer no support to Tibet independence forces to engage in anti-China separatist activities. China will take all necessary measures to defend its own interests."
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