Former House Speaker Pelosi and other US delegation members visit Dalai Lama Temple to meet Tibetan spiritual leader

Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of the congressional delegation visited the Dalai Lama Temple on Wednesday to meet the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Disciples of Dalai Lama were also seen in the temple premises this morning.

A bipartisan US delegation led by Michael McCaul, Republican Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, was welcomed by officials of the Central Tibetan Administration at the Kangra airport in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday.

Ahead of the US delegation’s meeting with the Dalai Lama, Dolma Tsering Teykhang, deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, said the visit of US lawmakers shows that “Tibet is not alone.”

“They are here to experience a different way of Tibetan culture…We are going to officially come together in the meeting…This sends (the message) that Tibet is not alone. The United States stands with Tibet and human rights still matter. This is a message not only for Tibet but for anyone who is passionate about human rights and freedom…” Dolma Tsering Tekhang told ANI.

The Deputy Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile said, “All those people who are suffering from the threat of China and the expansionist mindset of Xi Jinping, I think this is a very big message for them…”

Condemning China’s authoritarian approach, he/she said Beijing was “angry” with anyone supporting Tibet.

he/she said, “China is angry with everyone who supports Tibet. We are not here to anger or insult China… Representatives and senators are here only to support this issue. So, when there is truth, you have a supporter and if there is any truth or when they correct their wrong politics in Tibet, they will also get a lot of support…”

Earlier this week, the US Congress passed a bill urging Beijing to re-establish contact with the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders to peacefully resolve the dispute over the status and governance of Tibet.

According to Radio Free Asia’s report, the US House of Representatives has passed the ‘Promoting Tibet-China Dispute Resolution Act’, also known as the ‘Tibet Resolution Act’. It will now go to President Joe Biden for signature to become law.

The bill rejects Beijing’s stance that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times and urges China to “stop propagating misinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people and Tibetan institutions, including the Dalai Lama.”

It also urged China to begin talks with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders about how to govern Tibet. There have been no formal talks between the two sides since 2010.

Upon arriving in Dharamshala, former US House Speaker Pelosi said, “It is a great pleasure to be here.” Incidentally, Pelosi had visited Taiwan in the year 2022, which resulted in relations between the US and China reaching a cold phase.

McCaul confirmed President Joe Biden’s intention to sign the Resolve Tibet Act, which was passed by Congress last week. The Resolve Tibet Act urges Beijing to re-engage with Tibetan leaders for a peaceful resolution to their governance dispute with China.

The US representative expressed excitement for the upcoming meeting with the Dalai Lama and stressed the importance of the bill passed by Congress.

Meanwhile, China on Tuesday said that Beijing was “deeply concerned” over the US delegation’s visit to Dharamshala.

Addressing a regular press conference yesterday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian called on the US to fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai group and “stop sending the wrong signals to the world”.

“It is well known that the 14th Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure, but a political exile who engages in anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said, “We are deeply concerned by the relevant reports and urge the US side to fully recognize the anti-China separatist nature of the Dalai clique, honor the commitments made by the US to China on Xizang-related issues, refrain from any form of contact with the Dalai clique and stop sending false messages to the world.” China calls Tibet by the name Xizang.

The visiting US delegation on Tuesday visited the Tibetan Parliament in Exile at Gangchen Kyaisjong in Dharamsala and the Tibet Museum Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.