Beijing, June 10 – Amidst reports that the US and the EU would press China to have “result-oriented talks” with the envoys of the Dalai Lama on the Tibet issue, Beijing today said it would oppose any interference on the matter as it was its “internal affair”.
“I am not aware of the statement you mentioned (about US and the EU’s). Tibet is an inalienable part of China. Tibet is part of China’s internal affairs. We oppose any interference”, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a media briefing here replying to a query.
Qin said the Chinese government and the people were “fully capable” of dealing with all their internal affairs.
Reports said US President George W Bush, now in Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana, and the EU leaders would release a joint statement on Tibet after their annual summit.
After coming under mounting international pressure, China had initiated fence-mending talks with the envoys of the Dalai Lama last month and agreed to resume the dialogue.
However, the May 12 devastating earthquake that struck southwest China, killing more than 69,000 people, shifted the focus from the Tibet issue to relief and rehabilitation of the millions of the quake affected people.
No fresh dates have been announced for holding the next round of talks on the Tibet issue with representatives of the Dalai Lama.
The most serious anti-government protests in two decades led by monks had erupted in Tibet in March, leading to violence in Lhasa and other Tibetan-populated areas. China said 21 people were killed in the violence while the Tibetan activist groups claim the toll is more than 200.
