Antony Blinken’s meeting with Dalai Lama representatives irks China

TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China on Thursday reacted angrily to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with a senior representative of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in New Delhi, saying it is a violation of Washington’s commitment acknowledging Tibet as part of China and not to support Tibetan independence.

Blinken on Wednesday met Ngodup Dongchung, an official in the Tibetan government-in-exile and representative of the Dalai Lama, in a clear signal to China about the Biden administration’s continued support to the Tibetan cause. In the meeting, Dongchung thanked Blinken for the continued support by the US to the Tibetan movement.

When asked, a spokesperson of the US State Department said, “Secretary Blinken had an opportunity to meet briefly this morning in New Delhi with a representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Central Tibetan Administration Representative Ngodup Dongchung.” Separately, another Tibetan representative, Geshe Dorjee Damdul, attended a roundtable Blinken held with around seven civil society members.