US would oppose Chinese effort to impose its own Dalai Lama, says official
The Indian Express
December 06, 2018
The United States believes that the decision on
picking the next Dalai Lama should be as per Tibet’s religious traditions and
that it is not a role of the state, a top Trump Administration official has told lawmakers, hinting that it will oppose
any move by China to impose its own Dalai Lama.
“The United States has
a very clear position that religious decisions should be made within religious
organisations and that this isn’t the role of the state,” Laura Stone, Acting Deputy
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told the Senate Advertising 06/12/2018 US
would oppose Chinese effort to impose its own Dalai Lama, says official Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy during a
Congressional hearing.
Stone was responding
to a question from Senator Cory Gardner.
“China has said that
they will pick the next Dalai Lama. The Tibetan Policy, actually in 2002,
mandated that American official visit Tibet on a regular basis. I want to get
into both of these. If China proceeds and tries to impose a Dalai Lama what
will the US response be?” the senator had asked.
Gardner said it was
clear that this Congress would not recognise a Chinese imposition. Stone said
the senator asking such a question was an important signal in itself to the Chinese
government that this was the kind of issue that the United States was watching very
closely and at very senior levels.
“I wouldn’t want to
prejudge exactly how this, a future scenario, would roll out but I would like
to lay a marker that that is the clear position of the United States government
and, I think, widely supported within the American society, that those are the
kinds of decisions that should be made by religious communities on their own
and without outside interference,” she asserted.
In his remarks,
Gardner said the crackdown in the Tibet Autonomous Region was
intensifying while
Beijing continued to refuse negotiations with the Central Tibetan Administration.
“Human
rights defenders are routinely jailed, tortured, and otherwise deprived of
liberty. A genuine freedom of speech and assembly are nonexistent. Corruption
and abuse of power are rampant. The judicial system is a tool of the state and
the party and not an impartial arbiter of legal disputes,” he said.
The
United State, Stone said, was deeply concerned at the lack of meaningful
autonomy for the Chinese people. “We have certainly pressed for the release of
detained activists throughout the entire country, but very importantly, on the
Tibet plateau and in historical Tibet,” she said.
The
US has been pushing for access to Tibet with the Chinese authorities, Stone
said, adding “I know that’s an important issue. We do want to work with
Congress on that shared goal and we do continue to have very serious concerns
about the ability of the Tibetan people to continue to have the ability to
express their unique culture, their unique language, and their religious
practices.”
Senators
Gardner and Ed Markey reflected the sentiments of the US Congress, seeking
equal access of Americans to China as being done by the US to the Chinese. A
legislation is currently being moved in the Congress in this regard.
“We
need to consider reciprocal access as part of our policy in approach to Tibet
and to China and what’s being done to address this and to promote our access to
Tibet. Do you share the goals of our Reciprocal Act?” he asked.
In
the absence of such a reciprocity, the Act calls for sanctions against Chinese
officials.
“We
certainly share the goals and we do look forward to working with you to figure
out how best to achieve those goals,” Stone said, confirming that the US government
would implement the provisions of the Reciprocal Act if signed into law.
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