China on Thursday accused the United States of trying to destabilize Tibet hours after Washington appointed a senior official to oversee Tibetan affairs while increasing pressure on Beijing on human rights issues.
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Wednesday appointed Robert Destro as the new special coordinator for Tibetan affairs.
The United States remains concerned about “China’s repression of the Tibetan community, including the lack of significant autonomy, the deterioration of the human rights situation in Tibetan areas, and the severe restrictions on religious freedom and cultural traditions of Tibetans. in China, “Pompeo said in a statement.
In abrupt reaction, China’s Foreign Ministry said Beijing will not allow foreign interference in its internal affairs.
“The creation of the so-called special coordinator for Tibetan affairs is totally political manipulation to interfere in China’s internal affairs and destabilize Tibet,” said ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.
“China strongly opposes this (the interference) and has never acknowledged it,” Zhao said at the ministry’s regular briefing when asked to comment on the appointment.
“People of ethnic groups in Tibet are part of the great family of the Chinese nation. Since its peaceful liberation, Tibet has enjoyed prosperous economic growth, a harmonious civil society, and a prosperous culture. People enjoyed solidarity and mutual assistance and improved their livelihoods. All people in Tibet enjoy their full religious freedoms and their rights are fully respected and guaranteed. We believe that the future of Tibet will be better, ”Zhao added.
Zhao said the United States should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs under the pretext of Tibet or destabilizing it.
“China will take all necessary measures to defend our interests,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), senior officials defended their labor practices in the remote region amid growing concern about rights abuses.
According to a Bloomberg report from Lhasa, Tibet Governor Qi Zhala said in a briefing on Thursday that the transfer of forced labor “does not exist,” and maintained that the local government focused on “increasing the income of the force. inactive work through job training. “
Qi, who spoke about efforts to alleviate poverty, maintained that the Tibetan government had provided travel subsidies for people to work in other regions and that they were free to come and go at will.
In September, a Reuters report had said that Beijing was driving a growing number of “rural Tibetan workers off the land and into newly built military-style training centers where they become factory workers,” reflecting a program in the western region of Xinjiang that groups the rights have marked coercive labor ”.
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