The Chinese Embassy in the United States has sent threatening letters to lawmakers who visited the Dalai Lama in Tibet this week, urging them to “cancel” the visit, according to a copy of the documents seen exclusively by The Washington Post.
“I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the HFAC congressional delegation’s visit to Dharamsala,” Envoy Counselor Zhou wrote to aides to House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).
“The visit interferes in China’s internal affairs and infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. China strongly condemns it,” Zheng said, referring to Tibet as “Xizang” and saying “Xizang has been an integral part of China’s territory since the 1940s.” [the] The Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century.
“We urge Congress to halt related activities, and rather the opposite, to maintain the current momentum of stability in U.S.-China relations,” he added.
A bipartisan congressional delegation met with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of exiled Tibetan Buddhism, in northern India on Wednesday, despite Beijing’s warnings against U.S. engagement with the leader of “anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion.”
“This week our delegation received a letter from the Chinese Communist Party warning us not to come here,” McCaul said during the meeting, “but we have not succumbed to the Chinese Communist Party’s intimidation and that is why we are here today.”
“The Chinese Communist Party’s repression of Tibetans, intimidation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and warnings against visiting Tibetans living in exile in India are inappropriate, all the more reason for the United States and the international community to work together to counter Chinese misinformation about Tibetan history, defend the Tibetan right to self-determination, and encourage the Dalai Lama’s plan for succession,” Staten Island Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who accompanied him on the trip, told The Post on Friday.
Reps. McCaul, Meeks, Malliotakis, the Honorable Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House members welcomed officials from the Tibetan government-in-exile, which has had no ties with Beijing since 2010.
The 88-year-old Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala after a failed uprising against China in 1959.
He denies allegations that he is stoking Tibetan separatism and insists he only advocates for the protection of Tibet’s unique Buddhist culture.
“As witnessed by the international community, the human rights situation in Tibet has never been better,” the Chinese embassy letter to the parliamentary delegation asserted, contradicting reports that hundreds of thousands of Tibetan peasants are being forcibly sent to labor camps to correct their “backward mindset.”
The lawmakers told a crowd of several hundred people, some waving American flags, that the visit was to highlight Congress’ passage of the Tibet Resolution Act, which includes a provision calling on the State Department to “counter disinformation” spread by Beijing, including the idea that Tibet has been part of China for centuries.
“It sends a message to the Chinese government that our thinking and our understanding on the issue of Tibetan freedom is clear,” Pelosi said of the bill.
President Biden saw the bill pass Congress last week but has yet to sign it into law.
“The president is going to do what he thinks is best for the American people, that’s all I can say,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the same day that the White House “must not sign the bill” or China would take unannounced “decisive measures.”
The trip marks the second time Pelosi has ignored Chinese warnings about U.S. involvement in the Far East, following her visit to Taiwan in August 2022.
The Dalai Lama was due to fly to the United States on Thursday for treatment on his knee. It was unclear whether he met with other government officials during his stay in the United States.
