China Warns Czech Republic Over President’s Historic Dalai Lama Meeting in Ladakh

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 28 July: China has strongly opposed Czech President Petr Pavel’s meeting in India with the Dalai Lama and leaders of the Tibetan government in exile, urgently calling on the Czech side to honour its commitment to the One-China Principle.

The spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic issued a strongly worded statement late Sunday, condemning President Pavel’s same-day meeting with the Dalai Lama in Leh, Ladakh, and his expressed support for the Middle Way policy adopted by the Tibetan government in exile, also known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). 

According to Tibet.net, the official webpage of the CTA, President Pavel expressed strong support for the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way policy during his visit- an approach that seeks genuine autonomy for Tibetans within the framework of the People’s Republic of China rather than full independence. Pavel also met with the Sikyong (President) of the CTA, Penpa Tsering, as well as the CTA’s Minister for the Department of Security and the Department of Information and International Relations.

“This is not a call for an independent Tibet. The Dalai Lama only wants freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of language for his own people, and I think we should all support that”, Pavel said, according to Tibet.net.

In response, the Chinese embassy in Prague has denounced the Middle Way approach as an attempt at “disguised independence” and a “fantasy of establishing a Greater Tibet”- one that would extend beyond the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region(TAR) into the historically Tibetan provinces of  Amdo and Kham, now incorporated into Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces under China’s colonial rule. 

“His so-called Middle Way and fantasy of establishing a Greater Tibet covering a quarter of China’s territory, something that has never existed in history, are in fact attempts at ‘disguised independence,’ which the Chinese government and the Chinese people will never tolerate”, the statement from the Chinese embassy said. 

Reiterating Beijing’s position that any engagement between foreign leaders and the Dalai Lama and members of the CTA constitutes a violation of the One-China Principle and an unacceptable interference in China’s internal affairs, the statement urged the Czech side to “immediately take effective measures to eliminate the negative impacts and cease any wrong signals to separatist forces seeking Tibetan independence,” warning that failure to do so could undermine the stable and healthy development of China-Czech relations.

Meanwhile, Tibetan representatives have welcomed President Pavel’s visit as a historic moment and a rare expression of European solidarity. 

According to Tibet.net, Sikyong Penpa Tsering highlighted that since the 1970s, the Dalai Lama has travelled extensively, visiting many countries across Europe and later the US and beyond. He remarked that President Pavel’s visit “ is perhaps the first time that a head of state has visited His Holiness, spending time with us and also engaging with the people of Ladakh.”