Door Open to Contacts Between Central Government, Dalai Lama

An official of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, said here Saturday that the door will always be open to contacts between the Central Government and the Dalai Lama.

"China's policy towards the Dalai Lama is consistent and explicit," he said. "We hope that he could renounce his separatist stand of 'Tibetan independence' and come back to the position of patriotism."

The official made the remark on Dalai Lama's speech at the European Parliament (EP) General Assembly on October 24.

The official said it is again "an out-and-out lie" that Dalai said in his speech his "initiatives and overtures to engage the Chinese leadership in a dialogue remain unreciprocated," and " Beijing's attitude has hardened significantly compared to the eighties."

The fact is that since February 1979 when the Dalai Lama began sending representatives to contact with the Chinese Central Government, the Central Government has received more than 10 times delegates sent by him, said the official.

"The channel for contacts is well open," he added.

What the Central Government requires the Dalai Lama to do is only that he renounces his stand of "Tibetan independence", stops his separatist activities, and openly states that Tibet is an inalienable part of China, that Taiwan is one of China's provinces and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China.

However, he said the Dalai Lama has consistently rejected the reasonable demand of the Central Government. The Dalai Lama readjusted his tactics now and then, severing his contacts with the Central Government when he thinks the situation is favorable to him, and requesting resumption of contacts when he feels the situation unfavorable.

Although the contacts are intermitted due to the Dalai Lama's disruption, the Dalai Lama has spread lies across the world that the Central Government "declined" to negotiate with him and appealed to the international community to exert pressure on the Chinese government in an attempt to attain his goal of separation.

The official said reviewing the history of contacts between the Central Government and the Dalai Lama for more than 20 years, it is clear that although the Dalai Lama kept on changing his tricks, his stand of "Tibetan independence" still remains unchanged.

"Even when he is being engaged in contacts with the Central Government, he never relinquishes his separatist activities both at home and abroad," the official said. "Isn't the speech given by the Dalai Lama at the EP an evident proof of his activities to oppose the Central Government, split the motherland and undermine the national unity?"






People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/