China on Monday protested the meeting between the Dalai Lama and officials of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) with visiting US official Uzra Zeya in New Delhi. China also called the meeting an attempt to “interfere” in China’s “internal affairs”.
Zeya, who is the US Under Secretary for civilian security, democracy and human rights, and the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, met Lama and the officials of the CTA on Sunday evening as part of a week-long visit to India and Bangladesh.
“Xizang [Tibet] affairs are purely internal affairs of China and no external forces have the right to interfere. China firmly opposes any form of contact between foreign officials and the “Tibetan independence” forces,” the Chinese embassy spokesperson in India said in a statement.
“The US should take concrete actions to honour its commitment of acknowledging Xizang [Tibet] as part of China, stop meddling in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Xizang-related issues, and offer no support to the anti-China separatist activities of the Dalai clique,” the spokesperson added. The spokesperson also referred to the CTA as a “separatist political group” not recognised by any country.
Ahead of the meeting, the Dalai Lama on Saturday said that Tibetans did not seek independence from China and he was open to talks with the Chinese government.
