The Chinese government is not going to stand for this sort of thing. Rather, it will respond to the U.S. president’s signature on what TAG24 calls a “controversial” Tibet bill with what China calls “resolute measures.”
The legislation is the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act.
The Act
The Act says that China is “systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan people to preserve their religion, culture, language, history, way of life, and environment”; “that the dispute between Tibet and the People’s Republic of China must be resolved in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter, by peaceful means, through dialogue without preconditions”; and that the People’s Republic of China should “ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” and “address the aspirations of the Tibetan people with regard to their distinct historical, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity.”
The Act’s message for China thus boils down to “Stop lying about Tibet” and “Stop oppressing Tibet.” The text also says that the U.S., for its part, must take pains to counter PRC disinformation about Tibet and its history.
China’s hack-diplomats do not sympathize with these goals.
“Xizang [Tibet] has been part of China since ancient times,” according to a foreign ministry statement.
“Xizang affairs are China’s internal affairs, which brook no interference by any external forces. Xizang today enjoys social stability and harmony, with sound economic performance and people’s well-being well protected. Xizang is making fresh progress in effectively running its society, maintaining social stability, and achieving high-quality development. No one and no force should ever attempt to destabilize Xizang to contain and suppress China.
“We urge the US side to take concrete actions to honor its commitments of recognizing Xizang as part of China and not supporting ‘Tibet independence’.
“The US must not implement the Act. If the US continues down the wrong path, China will take resolute measures to firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests.”
Tibet has been conquered by China and is governed by China. It’s under the heel of China, and the U.S. government does not seem to dispute this. But maybe what the Chinese ministry really means is only that the U.S. should not oppose the subjugation and oppression of Tibet.
China’s diversionary comments evade the point of the Act except insofar as they imply that asking China to stop suppressing Tibet is a form of suppressing China.
Internal affairs
In any case, the U.S. bill has been signed into law, and such resolute legislative affairs as this are U.S. internal affairs that brook no interference by external forces like the shibboleth-babblers at the Chinese foreign ministry.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government “has shut down a prominent vocational high school in a Tibetan area of Qinghai province, making it the latest in a slew of Tibetan private schools that have been forcibly closed in recent years” (“China shuts renowned Tibetan private school, sparking outcry,” Radio Free Asia, July 16, 2024).
The 30-year-old school is the latest in a series of private schools forcibly closed in recent years, sparking concern among Tibetans over efforts by Chinese authorities to eradicate Tibetan language and culture….
A former student posted a short video on social media in which he said the shutdown of a “homeland school fully engaged in preserving the language and culture of the Tibetan race makes me feel very sad.”…
Since 2020, the Chinese government has imposed stricter restrictions on language rights in Tibet, resulting in the closure of private Tibetan schools and a heightened emphasis on Chinese-language education in the name of standardizing textbooks and instructional materials.
In 2021, authorities also began banning Tibetan children from attending informal language classes or workshops during winter breaks.
Just China minding “its” own business, promoting harmony, protecting people’s well-being, etc.
Also see:
VOA News: “Tibetans Defy China to Celebrate Dalai Lama’s Birthday Online”
