CHINA-US: US ADMINISTRATION HOSTS LOBSANG SANGAY, PRIME MINISTER OF TIBETAN GOVT-IN-EXILE, AT WHITE HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME

The newly appointed US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Robert Destro, hosted Lobsang Sangay, Prime Minister (also called Sikyong) for an unprecedented meeting at the White House on November 20, 2020. This was the first time in six decades that the leader of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile was invited to the White House. Predictably, the Global Times reacted (November 22) and said "Sangay's visit to the White House would be less influential than the Dalai Lama's. Washington primarily hopes to show the US' support for the "Tibetan government-in-exile" and hopes to signal that it wants to be more proactively involved in Tibet-related issues". Warning that  "The Tibet question concerns China's core national interests", it said "Washington's arrangement of the meeting is a grave interference in China's internal affairs and undermines China's national interests." It cautioned that "After Biden takes office, issues related to Tibet, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Hong Kong are expected to become pivotal on the agenda to deal with China.  Former US president Barack Obama hosted the Dalai Lama four times at the White House. As almost all Biden's advisors on China policies come from the Obama administration, the possibility that the Biden administration will take more aggressive moves on Tibet cannot be ruled out. China should remain vigilant toward that." At a media briefing in October, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said "Xizang’s (Tibet’s) affairs (are) purely China’s internal affairs. No external forces shall interfere in them”. "Appointing the so-called special coordinator for Tibetan issues is a political move to interfere in China’s internal affairs and sabotage Xizang’s stability. It is China’s consistent position we firmly oppose that, and we will not acknowledge that. We have lodged stern representation to the US side." 







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