China strongly condemns Mexican president's meeting with Dalai Lama

[News_Editor]

China strongly condemns Mexican president's meeting with Dalai Lama

2011-09-11 05:55:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

BEIJING (BNO NEWS) -- The Chinese government on Saturday strongly condemned a meeting between Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, saying it damaged relations between both countries.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said the Mexican side arranged Calderón's meeting with the Dalai Lama on Friday, despite strong objections from China. Following the meeting, China "lodged solemn representations" with Mexican officials in Beijing and Mexico City.

"This is a gross interference in China's internal affairs, hurts the feelings of the Chinese people, and undermines China-Mexico relations," Jiang said. "China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition."

Jiang said Calderón went against the 'commitments of the Mexican side' and urged the Mexican government to take concrete actions to eliminate the negative impact of the issue. She added that the Tibet issue concerns China's core interests and accused the Dalai Lama of carrying out secessionist activities under the banner of religion.

"China resolutely opposes any country's leader or government official meeting with the Dalai Lama in any way," the spokeswoman added. "We demand that Mexico takes measures to eliminate adverse effects [as a result of this meeting] and takes concrete actions to safeguard the healthy and stable development of China-Mexico relations."

China continues to claim Tibet as a region of their territory, though Tibetans have disagreed for many years. In mid-July, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama.

That meeting was quietly announced on a late Friday evening in Obama's daily schedule in an attempt to keep it low profile, but it did not slip past China's attention. The meeting also took place behind closed doors with no press allowed to attend.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-09-11

[cigar7]

China is certainly over extending its reach. The Chinese like to pick on weak neighbours and exert their direction. The Chinese government needs to be taught a lesson to allow religious freedom of people. May be it is time for the Chinese people rise up and teach their own government a lesson just like in Libya and Egypt. With the US pre-occupied in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and a few other places the Chinese are getting free-run in Tibet.

[DoctorG]

China is quick to condemn others as interfering in their internal affairs, but it itself is constantly trying to dictate to other countries what they should, or should not, do.

[zydeco]

Mexico is not a country. It's a plantation.

[Credo]

Rising up against the Chinese government might be a good idea, but after Tienammen square, I don't know that it would be too productive.

Environmental degradation, inflation and the disparity in incomes will more likely be the cause of China's political re-adjustments.

[Ricardo]

Perhaps the Dalai Lama, as a peaceful and widely-respected human being, should be invited to address the United Nations ? Then the Chinese government might have one big hissy-fit, get it out of their systems, and move on. Instead of appearing to try to bully small countries, which I find a worrying trait, in the future world-leader.

[maidu]

"This .... hurts the feelings of the Chinese people......" Jiang said.

What a silly statement, particularly coming from a State source. For a country where 'face' is paramount, it's statements like these - which cause China to lose any face it still might have on the topic of its occupation of Tibet. Message to Beijing: You can ship thousands of Han Chinese up to Tibet every week, but it won't change the fact that the once sovereign kingdom of Tibet was forcefully annexed to China in the 1950's.

China is certainly over extending its reach. The Chinese like to pick on weak neighbours and exert their direction. The Chinese government needs to be taught a lesson to allow religious freedom of people. May be it is time for the Chinese people rise up and teach their own government a lesson just like in Libya and Egypt. With the US pre-occupied in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and a few other places the Chinese are getting free-run in Tibet.

For sure, the rumblings throughout the Middle East are worrying the Chinese politburo. Not because they care about Arabs demonstrating and fighting for freedom (they don't care a hoot about them) but because it reminds them what a focused populace can do when it's fed up with totalitarianism. A Chinese-wide dam burst of protests will inevitably fefall the Chinese monolith of leadership, and just as inevitably, Beijing will react with an iron fist. But the iron fist will melt in the heat of popular outcry against Beijing's backward and harmful control mechanisms. Confucious say: You cannot mend a crack in a giant dam with fortune cookie dough

Edited September 13, 2011 by maidu

[geriatrickid]

For the sake of world peace one had better hope the Chinese totalitarian state holds up. Imagine a billion angry people swarming about. China is a powerful military force and should it start falling apart, wars would follow. Residents of the bordering regions would see their countries, lands and resources lost as the Han returned to their traditional marauder state roots. Let the Chinese moan about the Dalai Lama and Mexico. The Mexicans don't care. It's not as if they need China or even care about China. No one in Latin America gives a hoot about China. The Mexicans have cojones and won't be pushed around by the Chinese.