Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, July 07, 2017

China slams US lawmakers who visited the Dalai Lama

China on Wednesday slammed the U.S. for sending a bipartisan delegation of American lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, to India to visit exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

“The visit by the relevant delegates of the U.S. Congress to meet the Dalai Lama sent a very wrong signal to the world about Tibet independence and goes against the United States’s promises on Tibet,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, told Reuters.

“China firmly opposes this and has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. We urge relevant congresspeople in the U.S. to carefully handle the Tibet issue, stop all communications with the Dalai Lama and take immediate measures to deal with the negative impact of the visit,” he added.

The delegation’s visit to the Buddhist leader was intended to highlight human rights abuses in Tibet.

“As we visit His Holiness the Dalai Lama, our bipartisan delegation comes in his spirit of faith and peace,” Pelosi said, according to Reuters. “We come on this visit to be inspired by His Holiness and demonstrate our commitment to the Tibetan people, to their faith, their culture and their language.”

Since Beijing seized full control of Tibet in 1951, the Dalai Lama has been in exile, and the Chinese government has asked foreign leaders to eschew contact with him. He has previously said he would like to meet President Donald Trump.

The complaint from China came shortly after Trump, who frequently lambasted China during his presidential campaign, said he was keen to work with Beijing to stop North Korea’s nuclear program.

“We have made tremendous progress in our relationship with China,” Trump said after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on April 7, suggesting an improved relationship between the two countries.

Trump has not yet commented on China’s complaint about the bipartisan visit with the Dalai Lama, but the trip came at an awkward time for the president, given his eagerness to continue developing a better working relationship with Beijing.

As such, it appears unlikely the Dalai Lama will be invited to visit Trump in the near future.

Original Article
Source: rawstory.com
Author: Harriet Sinclair 

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