Dharamshala, 7th January: On Thursday, India slammed China, accusing the tone of a letter issued by a Chinese official to MPs and ministers attending a meeting on Tibet. The Indian criticism came in response to a Chinese embassy official’s unprecedented action of writing directly to ministers and lawmakers attending a meeting of the recently revived All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet.
“The substance, tone, and tenor of the letter are inappropriate, The Chinese side should note that India is a vibrant democracy and [the] MPs, as representatives of the people, undertake activities as per their views and beliefs,” External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, referring to a letter addressed by the Chinese embassy’s political counselor to Indian MPs and ministers about their participation in a Tibet-related event.
“We expect the Chinese side to refrain from hyping normal activities by [the] MPs and complicate further the situation in our bilateral relations,” he added.
On December 22, the Tibetan Parliament in Exile and the India Tibet Coordination Office hosted a dinner reception to announce the re-emergence of the All-Party Indian Parliamentary Forum for Tibet. Ramdas Athawale, the minister of social justice, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the minister of state for skill development, and nine members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including Maneka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and Manish Tewari, attended the meeting.
Following that, Zhou Yongsheng, the political counselor of the Chinese embassy, wrote to the MPs and ministers, expressing his country’s worry about their involvement in the conference.
“As is known to all, the so-called ‘Tibetan Government in exile is an out-and-out separatist political group and an illegal organization completely in violation of China’s Constitution and laws. It is not recognized by any country in the world. Tibet has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times, and Tibet-related affairs are purely China’s internal affairs that allow no foreign interference,” the strongly worded letter said, adding that the lawmakers should refrain from providing support to “Tibetan independence” forces.
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