By Tenzin Tsering
Dharamsala, June 7: Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying Monday said that the door for Tibet talks was always open and that there was sincerity from the Chinese side to continue the dialogue.
Fu, who was appointed the vice minister of Chinese foreign affairs in January this year, made the comment when giving a lecture at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo yesterday, according to Voice of Tibet radio service.
When asked about the Tibetan issue, Fu said, “The door for talks is always open, it has been open for years – for decades, and there are difficulties and there [is] sincerity from the Chinese side to continue the dialogue.”
“Tibet is a very remote region and it is important for Tibet to find its unique way of making economic progress, and at the same time preserve its culture and traditions. It’s a difficult process,” she said.
“At the same time the Tibetan culture is very unique, very valuable. Recently there was a National Conference on Progress in Tibet, and there will be lot of investment and lot of help. 37% of the Tibetan land is already placed under National Reserves protection, in order to protect the ecological environment. I like Tibet, I am in love with the land, and I am planning my holidays in Tibet this summer,” She added.
After the lecture, Fu was met briefly by Mr Penpa Tsering, the Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, who attended the lecture session at the NUPI with Mrs. Chungdak Koren from the Norwegian Tibet Committee.
When asked for his comment about the lecture and his meeting with Fu, Mr. Penpa Tsering said: “She seemed to be sincere and if what she said is meant with the right spirit, it could be a possible positive shift in the Chinese authorities’ approach to continue the dialogue for a negotiated settlement of the Tibet issue.”
In his comment to VOT, the Tibetan speaker remarked that that Fu Ying had sounded genuine and considerate in her comments on Tibet issue. He also said that the Chinese vice foreign minister even refrained from either denouncing the Dalai Lama or calling him a separatist.
Fu, who is of Mongolian ethnicity, has previously held positions like Director-General of Department of Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Australia. She has also been Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, Australia and the UK.
Nine rounds of talks between Dalai Lama’s envoys and Beijing since 2002 failed to produce any results.
China insists doors for talks are still open but categorically rejected all the proposals in the “Memorandum on Genuine Autonomy for the Tibetan People” and the “Note on the Memorandum” submitted by the Tibetan envoys during the eighth and ninth rounds of talks respectively.
Calling the memorandum an “agenda of independence”, the Chinese side has upped its usual anti-Dalai Lama rhetoric.
Tibetan side maintains China has rejected the proposal without providing any “legal and rational explanations”, and claims that the articles of the proposed memorandum were prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the PRC and its laws on National Regional Autonomy.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama last month said that for the talks to succeed, China must admit to a Tibet problem and begin serious talks to resolve the issue.
“The Chinese leadership needs to acknowledge that there is a Tibetan problem and begin serious discussions,” the Dalai Lama.
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Edited by Phurbu Thinley with additional inputs from Oystein Alme at VOT administrative office in Norway.
