China opposes CTA President’s Canada visit 

DHARAMSALA, 9 May: The Chinese Communist Party has strongly objected to the Central Tibetan Administration(CTA) President Penpa Tsering’s visit to Canada.

Expressing strong disapproval and firm opposition to Canada’s move to allow the CTA President to visit Canada and for allowing him to testify before the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, the Chinese Embassy in Canada has said that the “Tibetan government-in-exile” is a separatist political organization, Chinese state-run, Global Times reported.

“As the leader of the organization, Tsering is a downright anti-China separatist whose purpose of visiting is to sell the idea of ‘Tibet independence’ and advance the internationalization of Tibet-related issues,” the embassy spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report.

The report added that the CTA President “openly claimed that Tibet is not part of China,” at the testimony which it said once again exposed himself as a separatist calling for “Tibetan independence.”

While the CTA President testified in the Canadian House of Commons that the Sino-Tibet dialogue has been stalled since 2010 because of “no traction from the Chinese counterparts,” the unnamed Spokesman in the report has said that “the central government will never negotiate with such an illegal organization.”

“Regarding the so-called Tibet-China Dialogue, what I want to stress is that we do not recognize any Tibetan ‘government-in-exile,’ and the central government will never negotiate with such an illegal organization,” the spokesperson has said declaring only the central government and the government of the Tibet Autonomous Region as the representatives of the Tibetan people.” 

However, the Canadian House of Commons adopted a resolution supporting the Sino-Tibetan dialogue following the CTA President’s testimony on Thursday.

While the CTA President declared China concealing the whereabouts and well-being of the 11th Panchen Lama as its way of meddling with the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama since it involves reciprocal recognition between Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, the spokesperson has said, “as to the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the Chinese government upholds the policy of religious freedom, including respecting and protecting the reincarnation system as the Tibetan Buddhist path of inheritance.”

The CTA President arrived at Ottawa, the capital of Canada on Monday after concluding his US visit. His visit to Canada will see him engage with lawmakers and Tibet supporters apart from his public address to the Tibetan community and Tibetan youth in Ottawa and Toronto. He will return to Dharamsala on Tuesday.