The story appears on

Page A3

February 2, 2010

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Nation

China: No concessions on national sovereignty

CHINESE authorities said yesterday that the door for contacts and talks remains open to the Dalai Lama, but no concessions would be made on issues concerning national sovereignty.

Du Qinglin, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, had met with Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, private envoys of the Dalai Lama, in Beijing, said in a statement from the department yesterday.

No exact date was given in the statement.

During the meeting, Du pointed out that issues concerning China's territory and sovereignty were non-negotiable and no concessions would be made on those issues.

Du said the so-called "Greater Tibet" and "high-level autonomy" violated China's Constitution, and only if the Dalai Lama completely abandoned such claims could there be a foundation for contacts and talks.

"Tibetan people cherish peace and stability. It is no use to cheat them and act against their will. The activities of infiltration and provocation, which are doomed to fail, will only create barriers for talks and isolate the Dalai Lama and his followers," Du said.

If the Dalai Lama really hoped to make progress in contacts and talks and remedy relations with the central government, he should "respect history, conform with the times, clearly understand the reality, and cast aside illusions," Du said.

"It won't be a way out to seek 'Tibet independence' or 'independence in a disguised form' through violence or non-violence," he told the Dalai Lama's private envoys.

"Nor will it be a way out for them to seek internationalization of the so-called 'Tibet issue' or to give support to international anti-China forces," he said.

During the meeting, the official also outlined the achievements made by the Tibet Autonomous Region under the leadership of the CPC, according to the statement.

"There's no country or party in the world like our country and the CPC which, in more than a decade, pool the whole nation's strength to support the development of an ethnic region," Du said.

"It is the CPC, the central government and the local Tibetan government which can represent the fundamental interests of all Tibetan people, and can ensure them a happy life," he said.





 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend