China slams Dalai Lama’s gov't-in-exile as ‘outright separatist’ organization

ANKARA

China on Thursday slammed the so-called Tibetan government-in-exile led by Tibet's spiritual leader Dalai Lama as an "outright separatist organization," which is not recognized by any country in the world.

"The so-called Tibeten government is an outright separatist political group and an illegal organization that completely violates China's Constitution and laws. No country in the world recognizes it," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian said, according to state-run broadcaster CGTN.

His remarks came a day after a high-level bipartisan delegation of US lawmakers met with Dalai Lama in India's northern Himalayan state on Wednesday, despite Beijing urging Washington to avoid contact with the head of Tibetan Buddhism.

Regarding contacts between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, Lin said that Beijing's policy is "consistent and clear, and that the key point is the 14th Dalai Lama must fundamentally rethink and thoroughly correct his political stance."

Ahead of the meeting, China had urged the US to "fully recognize the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai group."

“It’s known by all that 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,” a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in India wrote on X.

"We urge the US side… (to) honor the commitments the US has made to China on issues related to Xizang, stop sending the wrong signal to the world.”

Xizang is the Chinese name for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama left Tibet in the late 1950s and settled in Dharamsala, where he remains the spiritual leader of "Tibetans in exile."

China, which annexed Tibet in the 1950s, considers him a separatist.

In 1951, India welcomed the Dalai Lama and granted him asylum.

The lawmakers' visit coincided with US President Joe Biden's expected signing of legislation known as the "Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act," which was passed by the US Congress this month and aims to promote dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama toward a "peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute between Tibet and China."

Foreign leaders' meeting with the Dalai Lama have always angered China.

In 2015, China criticized the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to the US.