Beijing: China has warned the US that it would take “forceful measures” to resolutely safeguard its own interests after President Donald Trump signed a new law that imposes a visa ban on Chinese officials denying American citizens access to Tibet.
Trump signed the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 into law on Wednesday which was passed by US Congress and the Senate, enraging China.
China insists Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 amid an abortive uprising against the Chinese rule in his Himalayan homeland. Foreigners have to seek special permission from China to visit Tibet.
US citizens, including government officials, reporters and tourists who seek to enter Tibetan areas are routinely rejected, and the few who do get in are forced to stay on strictly controlled official tours, where the true situation of the Tibetan people is hidden from them, American officials say.
While the Chinese foreign ministry warned of consequences, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) on Thursday night expressed strong indignation and firm opposition to the United States for enacting the law.
The act is against the basic norms of international relations and a gross interference in China’s domestic affairs, a statement issued by the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee said.
It has sent a seriously wrong message to “Tibetan independence” forces, the statement said.
Stressing that Tibet affairs are purely China’s domestic affairs and allow no interference from other countries, the statement said that Tibet and Tibetan areas in the other four provinces are open to people from around the world.
Since 2015, the number of visitors to Tibet and these regions from the United States alone has reached nearly 40,000, including multiple delegations of US Congressmen received by the NPC, it said.
It also defended the restriction of entry of foreigners, saying that taking into consideration factors such as Tibet’s special geographic and climatic conditions.
The Chinese government has taken certain administrative measures in accordance with laws and regulations for foreigners to enter Tibet, which are totally necessary and give no ground for blame.
The act’s accusations against China disregard the facts and are full of prejudice, and completely unacceptable by the Chinese side, it said.
This is the second major move by US relating to Tibet this month. (PTI)
