China: A fuming China summoned a top US diplomat late on Friday night to register its
Protest against President Barack Obama’s meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader and Noble laureate, the India-based Dalai Lama, saying Washington was interfering in Beijing’s internal domestic affairs.
Zhang Yesui, vice-foreign minister, said Daniel Kritenbrink, charge d’affaires of US embassy in China, in no uncertain terms that the meeting was “wrong move” and it “gravely interfered in China’s internal affairs, seriously violated the US commitment of not supporting the Tibetan independence movement.
It, gravely violated basic norms violating international relations, and seriously undermined China-US relations,” Zhang was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying.
“China expresses strong indignation and firm opposition,” Zhang told Kritenbrink.
On Thursday, as information about the impending meeting was released by the White House, Beijing had lost no time in issuing statements and releasing an official commentary criticising the US move and asked Obama to scrap the meeting.
Obama anyway went ahead with the meeting in White House’s Map Room. Soon after, under directions from the top leadership of the government, Zhang summoned Kritenbrink; it was late in the night according to China time.
The United States, on the one hand, recognizes that Tibet is part of China and has agreed not to support ‘Tibet independence’, while on the other hand arranged the meeting between its leader and the Dalai Lama,” he said, calling the Dalai Lama “chief head of the secessionist group seeking ‘Tibet independence.’
The Xinhua report added that Zhang demanded the US to immediately take concrete actions to offset negative influence, stop interfering into China’s internal affairs by making use of Tibet-related issues, stop conniving and supporting anti-China secessionist activities made by the Dalai Lama and his followers.
Bureau Report
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