China's Yang in US amid Tibet, navy rifts

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Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi. Photo courtesy AFP.China warns US that Tibet criticism could harm ties
China expressed anger Wednesday over US criticism of its handling of Tibet and warned that such statements from Washington could harm bilateral ties. "The United States, ignoring the facts, has made unwarranted criticism of China on the issue of Tibet... We express our resolute opposition to, and strong dissatisfaction with this," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. "We ask the US side... to acknowledge that Tibet is a part of China and oppose Tibetan independence, avoid harming overall China-US relations, and stop using the Tibet issue to interfere in China's internal affairs." Ma was responding to comments by the White House and US State Department that raised concern over Beijing's handling of Tibet. The war of words comes amid a Chinese security crackdown in the Himalayan region on the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule that saw Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, flee into exile abroad. The tit-for-tat began as China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi is set to meet with his US counterpart Hillary Clinton in Washington later Wednesday. "We urge China to reconsider its policies in Tibet that have created tensions due to their harmful impact on Tibetan religion, culture, and livelihoods," the statement released by the State Department said. "At the same time, we are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Tibetan areas." The State Department further urged China to resume its dialogue with the Dalai Lama in an effort to seek a lasting solution to the Tibet issue. Ma reiterated Beijing's stance that the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner is bent on Tibetan independence. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly denied such charges and acknowledges that Tibet is a part of China. "Our door to dialogue with the Dalai has always been open," Ma said in a statement. "Whether or not our contacts and negotiations can bear fruit depends on whether the Dalai can completely reflect on and change his political position and truly abandon his plan for 'Tibet independence'."

China to boost border security in far west: report
China plans to boost security along its borders with Central Asia in a bid to curb terrorism and religious extremism, while battling a rise in drug trafficking, state press said Tuesday. "We have asked (the central government) for the deployment of more security forces along the border," said Nur Bekri, a senior leader of the Muslim-majority Xinjiang region, according to the China Daily. "The current number is simply not enough," the newspaper quoted him as saying. He said recent terror attacks in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan were emboldening terrorists in the Xinjiang region, home to around eight million Turkic-speaking, Muslim Uighurs. The security situation in Xinjiang was "more severe" this year than earlier, he said, adding: "I cannot assure there won't be any incident, but I can assure there will not be anything big." China has accused Uighur separatists of fomenting unrest in the region, particularly ahead of and during the Beijing Olympics in August last year when a wave of violence hit the restive area. Xinjiang Muslims, who include almost three million people of other ethnicities, have complained for decades of political and religious repression by the Chinese government. Bekri added that trafficking of drugs, especially heroin from the "golden crescent" region of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, was on the rise and would be a target of stepped-up border patrols. Xinjiang police last year unveiled 1,500 drug trafficking cases, arresting more than 2,000 people and confiscating 144 kilogrammes (317 pounds) of heroin, he said. The growth in drug use has caused Xinjiang to have China's highest HIV/AIDS infection rate, with nearly 25,000 of the region's population of 20 million infected with HIV, he said.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 10, 2009
China's foreign minister was slated for his first talks Wednesday in President Barack Obama's Washington as rifts emerged between the Pacific powers over Tibet and naval rights.

Obama has pledged a constructive relationship with the growing Asian giant on a range of priority issues including tackling the global economic crisis and climate change.

Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi was scheduled to meet with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner -- one of the few top US officials who speaks Chinese -- along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Beijing last month.

But Yang's trip comes at a sensitive time with Tibetans holding worldwide demonstrations to mark Tuesday's 50th anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on the region that forced their leader the Dalai Lama into exile.

With Clinton under fire at home for not being firmer on human rights, the State Department late Wednesday issued a statement urging China to review its policies in Tibet.

It affirmed Washington's position that the vast Himalayan region is part of China.

"At the same time, we are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Tibetan areas," it said. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs made similar remarks.

"We urge China to reconsider its policies in Tibet that have created tensions due to their harmful impact on Tibetan religion, culture, and livelihoods," the State Department said.

It noted that the Dalai Lama himself accepts Tibet as part of China. Beijing regularly accuses the avowed pacifist monk of being a separatist.

The United States said that "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama's representatives could "lead to progress in bringing about solutions and can help achieve true and lasting stability in Tibet."

China has engaged in dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives since 2002 but the talks have yielded no results.

The Dalai Lama, now 73 and boasting a global following as a spiritual guide, said Tuesday at his home-in-exile in northern India that China had brought "hell on earth" to Tibet.

Exiles say some 87,000 people were killed in the months following the 1959 crackdown, during which the Dalai Lama escaped to India on horseback.

Rights groups say hundreds more died or are unaccounted for when China broke up another round of protests a year ago on the 49th anniversary of the uprising.

China has also called on the US Congress to halt a separate resolution that would urge Beijing to end "repression" in Tibet.

"We express serious concern over this," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in Beijing. "We believe the US Congress resolution proposed by a few anti-China representatives disregards the history and reality of Tibet."

But pro-Tibet lawmakers said the resolution, which could come up for a vote on Wednesday, would send a strong message to the Chinese foreign minister.

"How fitting it is that the foreign minister of China should be here in the United States this very week on an official visit," Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said.

Her message to Yang was echoed by protesters who waved Tibetan flags and broke out in an uprising song outside a Chinese embassy building in Washington, as passing motorists honked to show support.

"We hope he sees our message that there are thousands of people who believe the United States has a responsibility to speak out about the abuses in Tibet," said Yangchen Lhamo, an activist with Students for a Free Tibet.

Despite early good feelings between China and the Obama administration, the two sides have also engaged in a war of words after a naval showdown in the South China Sea.

The United States accused China of trying to physically block a US ship in international waters. Beijing hit back that the vessel -- used for US surveillance -- was engaged in "illegal activities" and demanded a halt.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman rejected the call, telling reporters: "We are going to continue as we have to operate in international waters."

The incident came just weeks after China and the United States agreed to resume high-level military exchanges, which were cut off last year by China amid anger over a proposed US arms package to rival Taiwan.

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Dalai Lama says Chinese-ruled Tibet 'hell on earth'

Dharamshala, India (AFP) March 10, 2009
Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama accused China of having brought "hell on earth" to his homeland in a speech Tuesday on the sensitive 50th anniversary of a failed uprising.

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