U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

New Delhi:

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – in India as part of a bipartisan delegation of American lawmakers – met the Dalai Lama Wednesday and, hours later, launched a ferocious attack on China and dismissed President Xi Jinping. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama will live a long time and his legacy will live forever, but you, the President, will be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything.”

“The Dalai Lama would not approve my saying this… that I am criticising the Chinese government. He would say, ‘Let’s pray for Nancy to rid her of negative attitudes.’ But I hope he will indulge me today in saying change is on the way. As our colleagues have said, hope brings some faith and the faith of the Tibetan people, in the goodness of others, is going to make all the difference…” Ms Pelosi said.

She also said that bipartisan approval for the Resolve Tibet Act sends a message to China – that Washington is clear in its thinking on this issue. “This bill says to the Chinese government: things have changed now, get ready for that,” she said to cheering Tibetans at an event this afternoon.

#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh: Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says “…His Holiness Dalai Lama, with his message of knowledge, tradition, compassion, purity of soul and love, will live a long time and his legacy will live forever. But you, the President of China, you’ll be gone… pic.twitter.com/zf4GP5W4g6

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2024

The act – which will put pressure on China to resume negotiations, frozen for 14 years, with the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders – now only needs President Joe Biden’s signature to become law.

Mr Biden, unlike every US President since George HW Bush, has never met the Dalai Lama.

Tibetan officials, specifically the Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, believe the Resolve Tibet Act, once signed, will stand as a powerful reaffirmation of the US’ commitment to the people of Tibet.

The US has long supported the rights of the Tibetan people to practice their religion and culture, and has accused China of human rights violations in the remote Himalayan region that borders India.

Confusingly, though, the US also considers the Tibetan Autonomous Region a part of China.

Ms Pelosi’s stunning broadside not only boosts to India’s position against China, it also comes as US President Joe Biden is set to sign a bill pressing Beijing to resolve the Tibet dispute and underlines Washington’s intention to stop Beijing from intervening in the selection of the next Dalai Lama.

Tradition dictates the Dalai Lama is reincarnated after his death and the current leader – who will turn 89 next month – has said his successor may be found in India. However, China insists officially atheist Communist leaders will name the next Dalai Lama, in line with a legacy from the past.

The US delegation – led by Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-New York) – reached India Tuesday, and was met Tibetan officials, Buddhist monks and nun, and school children at Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra airport. The visit comes before the Dalai Lama’s visit for treatment for a knee condition.

Their visit is significant because it comes as Washington and Beijing work to improve relations between two of the world’s economic and military giants. China has already expressed irritation.

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace laureate, a dangerous separatist, and has said it is “seriously concerned” by the American delegation’s visit and the bill to be signed by Mr Biden.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday affairs related to Tibet were an internal matter and that Beijing would take “resolute measures” to defend its sovereignty. “We urge the US side to adhere to commitments of recognising Tibet as part of China…” a spokesperson told press in Beijing Tuesday.

It’s known by all that the 14th #DalaiLama is not a pure religious figure, but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion. We urge the US side to fully recognize the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai group, honor the…

— Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India (@ChinaSpox_India) June 18, 2024

The US delegation, however, appeared unmoved. Mr Meeks said, “China can express its unhappiness (but) we are going to stand for what is right… to make sure Tibetans have freedom, (that) they can return to their native land and keep their culture and history. That is what is important…”

Who Is The Dalai Lama?

Born in 1935 as Lhamo Thondup, the Dalai Lama was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor at the age of two, and enthroned in 1940 as the 14th Dalai Lama in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

He fled Tibet in 1959, and since then lives in McLeodganj, a small town near Dharamsala.

He is said to believe in a ‘middle-way’ approach, meaning greater autonomy over independence

With input from agencies

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