China on Wednesday told Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to treasure the opportunity of a fresh round of talks as it confirmed the meeting would be held soon.
The comments, from an unnamed government official published by Xinhua news agency, also said the government expected the Dalai Lama’s envoys to give positive responses to its demands made in previous talks.
“Relevant departments of the Central Authorities of China will arrange another round of contacts and negotiation with the private representatives of the Dalai Lama in the near future,” Xinhua reported. “The Central Authorities hope that the Dalai Lama will treasure this opportunity and make positive responses to the requirements set forth by the Central Authorities in previous talks.”
The talks had already been scheduled for this week, although no time or place has been announced.
The Chinese statement came after the the Dalai Lama said this week he would only hold talks with China on the future of Tibet if Beijing “honestly” wished to engage in dialogue.
The Tibetan spiritual leader said he had “faith and trust” in the Chinese people, but his “faith and trust in the Chinese government is diminishing.”
Tibetan envoys have already held seven rounds of talks with Chinese officials on Tibet’s future.
However, the Dalai Lama said it was “very difficult to deal with people who are not sincere,” a transcript of his speech made on Sunday and distributed on Tuesday said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was