China tells Dalai Lama that more autonomy for Tibet is not up for discussion
Nobel Prize-winning spiritual leader must instead seek Beijing’s forgiveness and ‘work out what he will do with the rest of his life’
Beijing threw cold water on the possibility of re-launching talks with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, saying in a white paper that the issue of greater autonomy for Tibet was “not up for discussion”.
The statement comes months after the exiled spiritual leader and Nobel prize winner expressed optimism that President Xi Jinping may be open to re-starting dialogue regarding the region.
In a nearly 18,000-word white paper released by the State Council Information Office, the government declared that the Dalai Lama must focus on seeking “forgiveness” from the Chinese government.
“Any negotiations will be limited to seeking solutions for the Dalai Lama to completely abandon separatist claims and activities and gain the forgiveness of the central government and the Chinese people, and to working out what he will do with the rest of his life,” the white paper said.
“As the political status and system of Tibet is stipulated by the Chinese Constitution and laws, the ‘Tibet issue’ and ‘a high degree of autonomy’ are not up for discussion,” it added.
The ruling Communist Party held nine rounds of dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s envoys from 2002 to 2010 but the process produced no visible results.
The Dalai Lama has previously expressed optimism about the current administration in Beijing, in what some have seen as a possible easing of tensions with the central government, which has accused him of seeking secession for Tibet.