China failed to change Tibetan people’s minds, says Dalai Lama

Beijing slams Dharamsala visit of U.S. Special Coordinator on Tibet as ‘interference’ in its affairs

China’s Communist Party has failed in its efforts to change the minds of Tibetan people, the Dalai Lama said on May 19.

Meeting with the visiting U.S. Special Coordinator on Tibet Uzra Zeya – on a rare high-level visit from Washington to Dharamsala – the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader praised the democratic freedoms in the U.S. and in India.

China, he said, had “completely failed” in trying to change Tibetans’ minds. “Meanwhile, China’s thinking [is] also changing rapidly, Socialism and Marxism have gone,” he said.

The meeting discussed preservation of Tibetan culture and its importance for the world, said Penpa Tsering, Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala.

China has slammed the visit as “interference” in its internal affairs.

“The 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile disguised as a religious person and engages in anti-China separatist activities and attempts to split Tibet from China,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in Beijing.

“Tibet is a part of China and Tibetan religious affairs are China’s internal affairs. The U.S. appointment of a Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is an interference in China’s internal affairs. China is firmly opposed to it and has never recognised it,” said Mr. Lijian.