Former House Speaker of the US Senate, Nancy Pelosi, visited Tibet’s spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, at his Indian residence in Dharamshala on Wednesday. China’s government, which views the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader as a separatist, condemned the visit in advance.
China has condemned the visit as a threat to national sovereignty and urged the US to honor its One China policy commitment. The delegation, headed by Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, arrived Tuesday in Dharamshala, where the Dalai Lama has resided since the 1960s.
The visit occurred just days after Congress passed a bipartisan bill urging China to initiate dialogue with Tibetan leaders to resolve the long-standing conflict. U.S. officials have frequently met with the Dalai Lama. However, Pelosi’s participation in the delegation evoked memories of her 2022 visit to Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by China, when she was still the Speaker of the House.
What is the Resolve Tibet Act?
The Resolve Tibet Act, also known as “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act,” encourages Beijing to resume discussions with Tibetan leaders to peacefully resolve their governance dispute with China. According to Radio Free Asia, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the act, awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature to become law.
Last Wednesday, the House voted 391-26 to approve the Act, which had already passed the Senate. Funds are being allocated to counter Beijing’s “disinformation” about Tibetan history, people, and institutions.
In response to the U.S. delegation’s visit and approval of the Act, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated, “The 14th Dalai Lama is not merely a religious figure, but a political exile involved in anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion.”
He expressed serious concern over the reports and urged the U.S. to recognize the Dalai Lama’s separatist nature, honor commitments related to Tibet (referred to as Xizang by China), avoid any contact with the Dalai group and cease sending misleading signals to the world.
We urge the U.S. to honor its commitments to recognize Xizang as part of China and not support ‘Xizang independence.’ The U.S. must not sign the bill into law. China will take firm measures to defend its sovereignty, security, and development interests,” he stated without further details.
China Reaffirms Stance on Autonomy
Lin asserted that Tibet now enjoys a peaceful and harmonious society, positive economic growth, strong welfare protections, and new avenues for long-term stability and high-quality development.
According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, the Tibet Bill disputes China’s claim that Tibet has always been part of China and proposes that U.S. policy should consider the dispute over Tibet’s status unresolved. In addition, the bill states that “Tibet” encompasses the Tibet Autonomous Region as defined by China, as well as Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces.
In April this year, China declared it would only engage in talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, not with officials of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in India. Simultaneously, China dismissed the possibility of discussions regarding the Dalai Lama’s longstanding demand for autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.
During talks with China from 2002 to 2010, the Tibetan side advocated for genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people in line with the middle-way policy proposed by the Dalai Lama, who has emphasized that he seeks autonomy rather than political independence for Tibet.
This autonomy would encompass all Tibetan areas, including Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces, and the current Tibet Autonomous Region, a telescopic version of Tibet before China’s annexation.
