Tibet row: China imposes tit-for-tat visa curbs on US officials

Beijing, April 14: China on Monday slapped visa restrictions against US personnel who have acted “egregiously” on Tibet-related issues in retaliation to additional visa curbs imposed by Washington on Chinese officials.
Tibet affairs are purely China’s internal affairs, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here.
“In accordance with the Law on Foreign Relations of the People’s Republic of China and the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the People’s Republic of China, China decided to impose visa restrictions on US personnel who have acted egregiously on the Xizang (Tibet) -related issues,” Lin told a media briefing.
China refers to Tibet as Xizang.
The restrictions were in response to similar restrictions imposed by Washington on Chinese officials.
In a statement issued on March 31, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would impose additional visa restrictions on Chinese officials “determined to be substantially involved in the formulation or execution of policies related to access for foreigners” to Tibetan areas.
The statement said the decision was in accordance with the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018, under which Chinese officials could be denied US visas if they were complicit in denying American government officials, journalists, independent observers and tourists access to the region, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
It said Chinese authorities had long “refused to afford US diplomats, journalists, and other international observers access to the Tibet autonomous region and other Tibetan areas of China”, while “China’s diplomats and journalists enjoy broad access in the United States”.
Reacting to the US statement, Lin said “We welcome friends from foreign countries to visit, travel and do business in China’s Xizang region.” “At the same time, we oppose any country or individual using human rights, religion and culture as a false pretext to meddle in Xizang affairs,” he said. (PTI)