China has reacted angrily to a meeting between Obama administration officials and the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. From Xinhua:
According to media reports, three top aides to U.S. President Barack Obama, met the Dalai Lama in northern India on Monday.
“We are firmly opposed to the Dalai Lama’s engagement in separatist activities against China in any country and in any name or identity. We oppose any force making use of this issue to interfere with China’s internal affairs,” Jiang said.
“The U.S. side is very clear about China’s position on this issue,” Jiang said when asked about a possible meeting between the U.S. president and the Dalai Lama.
Meanwhile, the Tibetan prime minister-in-exile has expressed anger to the U.S. and other Western countries for appeasing China on the issue. From AFP:
“A lot of nations are adopting a policy of appeasement,” Rinpoche told a group of journalists late Tuesday.
He was speaking in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, which has been home to the government-in-exile since the Dalai Lama fled to India 50 years ago after China crushed an uprising in Tibet.
“Even the US government is doing some kind of appeasement,” Rinpoche said.
“Today, economic interests are much greater than other interests,” Rinpoche went on to say.
Analysts say a meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama before the US president’s maiden trip to Beijing in November would be sure to spark an angry response from China.
