“We demand that India immediately cease using the Dalai Lama’s mistaken behavior to damage China’s interests”, Hua said.
“There may be some differences of opinion between India and China over the boundary”. However, it is his week-long excursion through neighboring Arunachal Pradesh, kicking off on Wednesday, that has raised hackles in Beijing. “The way India has been helping me and my followers for 58 years by giving us shelter, we can never forget that”, he said.
It ended with a dire warning, “China doesn’t allow India to free ride on its economic growth while jeopardizing Beijing’s core interests”.
China firmly opposed the visit on the India-China border by the Dalai Lama, who it labels a risky separatist.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 amid an uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, which Communist forces had occupied earlier in the decade.
The 14th Dalai Lama, who previously renounced any political role in leading the Tibetan diaspora, said the goal of his visit to Buddhist-majority Arunachal Pradesh was to promote religious harmony.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) raised apprehensions over the manner in which Beijing objected to Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal. “Many Chinese intellectuals fully support our cause”, the Dalai Lama said.
The response from the Chinese media is not in isolation as it recently admitted that China would have to deal with a bolder India if Modi won the next general elections and dealing with New Delhi on border disputes could become hard. “There is no political angle behind His Holiness’s visit”.
China has raised objection to the Dalai Lama’s trip to Arunachal Pradesh saying it will cause “serious damage” to bilateral ties.
The Buddhist leader was in Bomdila, a town that suffered through one of the final phases of the brief 1962 war between India and China over the sovereignty of Arunachal Pradesh, disputed by both powers since the creation of the Indian state in the mid-20th century.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang last week said China was firmly opposed to any visit by the Dalai Lama to the disputed border region.
Facing opposition from China, Dalai Lama affirmed that he didn’t mind even if he was considered as a demon.
“Our stance on the eastern part of the China-India border is clear and consistent”, Hua said.
Dalai Lama urged Beijing to give Tibet meaningful self rule and autonomy. “People of Arunachal Pradesh are looking toward a cooperative attitude from China”, he said.
It also reiterated the government’s position that the Dalai Lama is a revered religious leader who is deeply respected by the Indian people.
This is the first time the Indian ambassador was called to the Chinese foreign ministry to lodge a protest since April 2008 when the then envoy, Nirupama Rao, was summoned past midnight to protest against demonstrations by Tibetans in New Delhi.
