Former US House Speaker Nancy Peolsi, who is part of a US bipartisan delegation which met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, launched a broadside against Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that while the legacy of the Tibetan spiritual leader will live forever, Xi will be gone in a few years.
Pelosi, who is on a two-day visit to India, said, "No one will give credit" to Xi for anything.
"His Holiness Dalai Lama, with his message of knowledge, tradition, compassion, purity of soul and love, will live a long time and his legacy will live forever. But you, the president of China, you'll be gone and nobody will give you credit for anything," said the former US House speaker.
Pelosi said that the Dalai Lama would not approve of her comment against the Chinese. "When I criticise the Chinese government, he says let's pray for Nancy to rid her of her negative attitudes," Pelosi said during the public felicitation programme at the Tsuglagkhang complex in Dharamshala.
The bipartisan Congressional delegation arrived in India on Tuesday and was received by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration at Himachal Pradesh's Kangra airport the same day.
Last week, the US Congress passed a bill urging Beijing to re-engage with the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders to peacefully resolve their dispute over the status and governance of Tibet.
The US House of Representatives passed the bill 'Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act', also known as the 'Resolve Tibet Act', and it now heads to President Joe Biden for a signature to become law, Radio Free Asia reported.
"You heard our colleagues talk about this legislation that was passed last week. We had been fighting this for a long time and in the spirituality of His Holiness, with manoeuvring inside the Congress, we made progress. But it's different now with the passage of this bill (Resolve Tibet Act) because this bill is a message to the Chinese government that we have clarity in our thinking and our understanding of this issue of the freedom of Tibet," Pelosi said.
Pelosi further recalled the visit of the Chinese president to Washington, DC, where she told him that the US is "objecting" to what China is doing to the culture of Tibet.
In response, Xi said, "You know what you're talking about, you should go there and see for yourself all the improvements that China is making in Tibet," Pelosi recalled.
"They are trying to erase the culture by reducing the use of the language. They are trying something that we cannot let them get away with. I'll be gracious to the Chinese people, I don't know that they're up to this, but we do know that the Chinese government is, and we do know that they must get the message. This legislation sends the message, the House and the Senate and soon to be signed by Joe Biden, the president of the United States..." the former US House speaker added.
US Representative Congressman Gregory Meeks, who is heading the American delegation to India, too gave a strong response to Beijing's criticism of their visit, and said that the US is going to stand for what is right.
"China can express unhappiness if it wants. We are going to stand for what is right. What is right is to make sure that Tibetans have freedom. They are able to return to their native land and they are able to keep their culture & history...That's what is important..." he said.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration said, "No one can really make China happy."
"The meeting went on for about an hour. His Holiness (Dalai Lama) speaks about the larger interest of the society... He appreciated the US Congress people for passing the legislation," Penpa Tsering said about the American delegation’s visit to Dharamshala.
He further said, "Who can make China happy? They have to look at the reality and the situation and understand it from a better perspective..."
The US legislation notably rejects Beijing's stance that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and urges China to "cease its propagation of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama."
It also urged China to begin talks with the Dalai Lama, who is the spiritual leader of Tibet, and other Tibetan leaders about how Tibet is governed. No formal talks between the two sides have taken place since 2010.
Meanwhile, China said on Tuesday that Beijing is "gravely concerned" over the visit of the US delegation to Dharamshala.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian, addressing a regular press conference on Tuesday, asked the US to fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai Group and to "stop sending the wrong signal to the world."
