China slams US House proposal on Tibet

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April 07, 2008 18:02 IST

China on Monday slammed a proposed US Congressional resolution on the Tibet unrest and asked American lawmakers to refrain from doing anything that might harm Sino-US relations.

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday tabled a resolution calling on Beijing to end its crackdown on peaceful protests in Tibet and begin a dialogue with the Dalai Lama to address the grievances of the Tibetan people.

The resolution proposed by some members of the US House of Representatives neither condemned those responsible for the violence nor did it denounce the "Dalai Lama clique", Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said.

She said the resolution instead blamed the Chinese government and people.

"We urge the relevant US Congressmen to respect the truth, give up preconceptions and recognise the true nature of the Dalai Lama clique," she said.

The riots in Lhasa and other Tibetan-populated areas in Sichuan and Gansu provinces have left 20 persons dead following violent anti-government protests spearheaded by monks.

The unrest in Tibet and Beijing's crackdown have brought calls from Western powers led by the US to exercise restraint by China and hold talks with the Dalai Lama.

Jiang also asked the Congressmen to "show due sense of responsibilities, cease putting forward proposals related to Tibet and refrain from doing anything that may harm the feelings of the Chinese people and China-US relations."

She said the Chinese government was willing to continue contacts and talks with the Dalai Lama as long as he abandoned advocating Tibet independence, stops activities aimed at splitting the motherland and sabotaging the upcoming Olympics.

The Dalai Lama must also recognise Tibet and Taiwan as inalienable parts of China, she said, according to official Xinhua news agency.

Pelosi had invited the anger of China recently after meeting the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala in India and firmly backing the Tibetans movement.

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