A senior Chinese official has denounced the Dalai Lama’s long-standing pursuit of autonomy for Tibet, describing it as equivalent to advocating Tibetan independence, state media said yesterday.
The comments by Zhu Weiqun (朱維群), chairman of the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the top advisory body to the Chinese National People’s Congress, signal that China would probably refuse to pursue a compromise with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
The Dalai Lama, who fled China in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule, is considered a violent separatist by Beijing.
Photo: AFP
The India-based Dalai Lama says he is merely seeking greater autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.
“In the fundamental sense, ‘high-level autonomy’ means Tibet’s independence,” Zhu was quoted as saying in the China Daily newspaper. “It is separated into two steps. The first step is so-called autonomy. The second one is actual independence.”
The Dalai Lama’s brand of autonomy “goes against China’s autonomy system and does nothing but insert secessionist elements into China’s regional ethnic autonomy law,” Zhu was quoted as saying.
The Dalai Lama’s approach, called the “Middle Way” by Tibetans, seeks a Hong Kong-style autonomy for the region, with Tibetans respecting Chinese sovereignty over their homeland, but having a greater say over religious and cultural affairs.
Some Tibetan activists have expressed frustration with the “Middle Way” and have pressed for independence, not just autonomy.
Years of autonomy talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government broke down in 2010.
Tensions over the issue are at their highest in years after a spate of self-immolation protests by Tibetans, which have led to an intensified security crackdown.
More than 120 Tibetans have set themselves alight since 2009, mainly in heavily ethnic-Tibetan areas of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, rather than in what China terms the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Most of those who set themselves on fire have died.
China defends its iron-fisted rule in Tibet, saying the region suffered from dire poverty, brutal exploitation of serfs and economic stagnation until 1950, when communist troops “peacefully liberated” Tibet and introduced “democratic reforms” in 1959.
On Monday, China denounced a decision by a Spanish criminal court to indict former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) for genocide as part of an investigation into whether his government committed abuses in Tibet.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique