By Phurbu Thinley
Dharamsala, Feb 1: Representatives of the Chinese Communist government told envoys of the Dalai Lama that the door for contacts and talks remained open, but no concessions would be made on issues concerning China’s control of Tibet, China’s state media said.
The report said, the “private envoys” of the Dalai Lama had met with Du Qinglin, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, in Beijing during the latest round of talks.
During the meeting, Du pointed out that issues concerning China’s territory and sovereignty were non-negotiable and no concessions would be made on those issues, Xinhua’s report said.
According to the report, Du told the Tibetan envoys that the so-called “Greater Tibet” and “high-level autonomy” violated China’s Constitution and only “if the Dalai lama completely abandoned such claims, could there be a foundation for contacts and talks”.
The contacts and talks would have no progress if the Dalai Lama side continued activities against China, Du said, according to the report.
“Tibetan people cherish peace and stability. It is no use to cheat them and act against their will. The activities of infiltration and provocation, which are doomed to fail, will only create barriers for the talks and isolate the Dalai Lama and his followers,” Du said in a statement issued by his department.
The report said the Dalai Lama’s private envoys, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, expressed their opinions on relevant issues, but made no mention of further details.
The report suggested little has been achieved in the latest discussions.
The Tibetan government-in-exile argued Monday that Chinese objections to sovereignty for Tibet were misplaced, as it was seeking “genuine autonomy” and not independence for the Himalayan region.
“We are not wishing to have Tibet as a sovereign state,” Tibetan administration spokesman Thubten Samphel told AFP.
Mr Samphel said the exiled government had never sought any concessions on the issue, arguing instead for a meaningful autonomy for the region to preserve Tibet’s unique culture.
“We have made it clear to them that Tibet should enjoy autonomy and this was conveyed to the Chinese side,” he said.
The two sides resumed talks last week after a break of 15 months.
The envoys returned to the Indian capital early this morning after talks with the representatives of the Chinese leadership. They are expected to be in Dharmsala, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile in north India, later in the day to brief the Tibetan leaders on the details of their meetings.
The latest ninth round of talks opened just over a week after Chinese leaders held a major meeting about Tibet – the first in nine years – in which they indicated they would continue their hard-line approach in an effort to maintain a “long-term stability” in the region.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told those at the meeting – the Fifth Tibet Work Forum held on Januay 18-20 – that China would maintain efforts to prevent “penetration and sabotage” by supporters of Tibetan independence.
“Tibet faces a special contradiction between people of all ethnic groups and the separatist forces led by the Dalai clique,” Mr Hu said at the meeting, according to Chinese state-run media.
However, there are Tibet observers who concede that the Chinese Government and the Communist Party had considerably toned down their rhetoric against the Dalai Lama during the meeting.
