The seven-member US delegation led by Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Nancy Pelosi former U.S House Speaker, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Gregory Meeks, Nicole Malliotakis, Jim McGovern, and Ami Bera visited Dharamshala on June 18 and 19 to meet His Holiness Dalai Lama. The bipartisan Congressional delegation was received by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration (‘Tibetan People’s Exile Organization’) at the Kangra Airport in Himachal Pradesh.
Nancy Pelosi, and other members met the Dalai Lama on June 19, at Macleodganj, Dharamsala Himachal Pradesh. She issued a stark warning to Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that while the Tibetan spiritual leader’s legacy will live forever, the Chinese President will be gone in a few years. “His Holiness Dalai Lama, with his message of knowledge, tradition, compassion, purity of soul and love, will live a long time and his legacy will live forever. But, the President of China, you’ll be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything,” she added.
Before the arrival of the delegation, the US House of Representatives passed the ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’, also known as the ‘Resolve Tibet Act’. The Bill aims to counter China’s position that it has controlled Tibet since ‘ancient times’ and to urge Beijing to re-engage with the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders to peacefully resolve their dispute over Tibet’s status and governance. “But it’s different now with the passage of this Bill (Resolve Tibet Act) because this Bill is 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 added.
“They (Chinese government) are trying to erase the culture (of Tibet) by reducing the use of the language. They are trying something that we cannot let them get away with. I’ll be gracious to the Chinese people, I don’t know that they’re up to this, but we do know that the Chinese government is, and we do know that they must get the message,” said the former US House Speaker.
On June 18, US Representative Congressman Gregory Meeks, who is heading the US delegation’s visit to India, also issued a strong response to Beijing’s criticism of their visit, stating that the US was going to stand for what is right. “China can express unhappiness if it wants. We are going to stand for what is right,” said Meeks, adding, “What is right is to make sure that Tibetans have freedom. They are able to return to their native land and they are able to keep their culture & history. That’s what is important.
Beijing said that it was “gravely concerned” over the US delegation’s visit to Dharamshala. Addressing a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian asked the US to fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Lama and his group and to “stop sending the wrong signal” to the world.
The Bill, called the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, aims to harden Washington’s position on Tibet and pressure Beijing into resuming negotiations with the Dalai Lama. No formal dialogue between the Chinese and Tibetan authorities has taken place since 2010. The Bill also aims to direct funds to counter what it describes as “disinformation” from China about Tibetan history, institutions, and people. The Bill refutes Beijing’s claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times. Going a step further, it would also make it official US policy that the dispute over Tibet’s status is unresolved.
The Act aims to enhance US support for Tibet by empowering US State Department officials to actively and directly counter disinformation about Tibet from the Chinese government, rejecting false claims that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times. The Act will also push for negotiations without preconditions between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama or his representatives or the Tibetan community’s democratically elected leaders. Finally, it will also make it the US State Department’s responsibility to coordinate with other governments in multilateral efforts towards the goal of a negotiated agreement on Tibet.
India reiterated its stance on the Dalai Lama’s position, emphasising his “revered” status and the respect accorded to him by the Indian people.”I would like to reiterate India’s position on His Holiness Dalai Lama. He is a revered religious leader and is deeply respected by the people of India. His Holiness is accorded due courtesies and freedom to conduct his religious and spiritual activities,” stated Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Interestingly, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the renaming of 30 places in Tibet, signalling a strong response to China’s nomenclature aggression in Arunachal Pradesh. The names, grounded in historical research and affiliation to the Tibet region, will be released by the Indian Army and updated on their maps along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This move is a direct retort to China’s renaming of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh in April, a decision that India strongly objected. Under Modi 3.0, India aims to assert its territorial claims by assigning its own names to locations in occupied Tibet.
The list includes 11 residential areas, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, one mountain pass, and a piece of land, presented in Chinese characters, Tibetan, and pinyin. China’s previous actions include releasing lists of standardised names for places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017, with the latest list containing almost as many new names as the previous three combined.
India fully supports the Dalai Lama for the granting an autonomous status to Tibet.
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