New Delhi: A high-level team of seven US politicians met called on the Dalai Lama at his residence in India’s Dharamsala on Wednesday.
The bipartisan American congressional delegation, led by Republican Michael McCaul and including Democratic former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived at Dharamsala on Tuesday and met the spiritual leader the day after.
Thereafter, they addressed hundreds of people at a monastery just outside the 88-year-old Dalai Lama’s residence, waving American and Tibetan flags.
The US lawmakers said one of the key focus of their visit was to underscore the Resolve Tibet Act, passed by the US Congress last week, and aims to encourage dialogue between Dalai Lama and Chinese officials in an effort to find a peaceful resolution between Tibet and Beijing.
The picturesque hillside town of Dharamsala has been the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dalai Lama’s headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
His meeting with the US team, as well as the recently-passed bill, haven’t amused China, which views the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism as a dangerous separatist.
However, the visit and newly passed bill have triggered swift backlash from Beijing.
Urging Washington not to support Tibetan independence, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the White House “must not sign the bill into law,” or else China will take “resolute measures.”
“It’s known by all that the 14th Dalai Lama is not a purely religious figure, but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion. The US should have no contact with the Dalai group in any form, and stop sending the wrong signal to the world,” he warned.
The Resolve Tibet Act bill will be sent to the White House to be signed into law by President Joe Biden.
“It’s a message to the Chinese government that we have clarity in our thinking and our understanding of this issue of the freedom of Tibet,” Pelosi said, drawing applause of the crowd.
Republican representative McCaul said the bill reaffirms America’s support for Tibet’s right to self-determination. “Just this week our delegation received a letter from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), warning us not to come here… but we did not let the CCP intimidate us for we are here today,” he said amid loud approval from the audience.
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