Headlines
China warns Obama over meeting with Dalai Lama
Beijing, Feb 6
China has warned that "positive
trends" in its relations with the US will be reversed if President
Barack Obama meets the Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.
A
commentary in the People's Daily, the official organ of the Communist
Party of China, also said that "chumming with a secessionist" would
amount to "playing with fire".
Obama and the Dalai Lama were to interact at the National Prayer Breakfast.
"Any
possible meeting or encounter between the two is sure to have negative
consequences because the Dalai Lama is a political liability which
backfires," the commentary said.
It said that issues regarding Tibet concerned China's core interests and national sentiments.
"Beijing
has long made it clear that the Dalai Lama, who has for decades tried
to separate Tibet from China, should never be hosted by leaders of other
countries.
"Chumming with a secessionist is playing with fire,
which severely harms the mutual trust between China and the US, and
downgrades Obama's credit as a national leader for breaking his
commitments to China on the Tibet issue.
"There may be
self-claimed friendship between Obama and the Dalai Lama as individuals,
but a meeting between a US president and a political fugitive goes
beyond personal domain."
The newspaper, which reflects thinking
in the communist party, said: "What lies under their hypocritical
relationship is nothing but political deals and cold calculations.
"Obama needs the Dalai Lama not because the latter is respectful, as Obama claimed, but because the Dalai Lama is useful.
"For one thing, he is a separatist. For another, he comes from China and is against his own motherland.
"In
essence, the Dalai Lama is just a handy tool for Obama to scramble for
short-term gains, show off his moral clarity and score easy points at
home.
"But Obama and other politicians who want to meet the
political fugitive will soon find they have miscalculated as their
losses outweigh their gains and they have to pay too much for the
whistle."
It said: "If Obama meets the Dalai Lama, he will simply
reverse the positive trends established by China and the US in the
development of their relations.
"Any possible meeting or
encounter with the Dalai Lama planned by Obama will dampen the hard-won
positive momentum in China-US relations.
"Now the ball is in
Washington's court. It is highly advisable that the US stick to its
commitments and properly handle related issues with the overall
interests of China-US relations in mind."